In this fast-paced world, everyone is busy in their professional and personal life to fulfil their goals. Maintaining a healthy diet to be healthy and energetic all day is essential.
Today, meal delivery service providers deliver healthy food planned by experienced nutritionists at our doorsteps. The two most preferred meal delivery service providers are Daily Harvest and Thistle.
Key Takeaways
- Daily Harvest offers a wider variety of meals, while Thistle offers a more limited selection of plant-based meals.
- Daily Harvest meals come frozen and require a few minutes of preparation, while Thistle meals are delivered fresh and ready to eat.
- Daily Harvest emphasizes smoothies and snacks, while Thistle focuses on full meals with higher protein content.
Daily Harvest vs Thistle
The difference between Daily Harvest and Thistle is that Daily Harvest delivers frozen food that is gluten-free, plant-based, and vegan, with vegetables, and fruits. On the other hand, Thistle delivers fresh food both for vegetarians and omnivores. Daily harvest food requires either water or milk to heat or blend before taking, while Thistle food requires minimal cook without any additional ingredients.

Daily Harvest is a meal delivery service provider that delivers frozen food prepared from fruits and vegetables. It is suitable for vegetarians as all food does not contain any meat.
The diet is planned by nutritionists and delivered weekly or monthly. It is a subscription-based delivery store suitable for frequent travellers, students, bachelors, and working women.
Thistle is also a meal delivery service provider that delivers fresh food but has limited customization options. The Thistle meals can be frozen for 3-5 days. It can be taken hot or cold as per choice.
Customers can order food for three to six days weekly and pause and resume whenever they want.
Comparison Table
Parameters of Comparison | Daily Harvest | Thistle |
---|---|---|
Founder | Rachel Drori in 2014 | Ashwin Cheriyan in 2013 |
Packaging | Meals are frozen with dry ice and come in a cardboard box. All the meal bowls and cardboard boxes are recyclable. | The packaging of thistle meal is also recyclable. The thermal cooler bags and other meal containers are reusable. The company is ready to take back the bags for future use. |
Key ingredients | Plant-based ingredients, dry fruits, and vegetables are often used in meals. | The company also uses plant-based ingredients for vegan food and meat for omnivore food. |
Suitable for | The meal is only for vegetarians. | It is for both vegetarians and omnivores. |
Cooking | It requires water or milk to blend or heat the items before taking. | It requires no additional items to take. It can be taken cold or cook for two minutes before having. |
What is Daily Harvest?
Daily Harvest is one of the vegan meal-delivery service providers in the United States. Rachel Drori, founder and CEO of Daily Harvest Company, in 2015. It is a private company that supplies ready-in-minute diet food for Americans.
It supplies breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, juices, and smoothies to its subscribed customers weekly or monthly. The meals are delivered doorstep weekly or monthly which can be stored in the refrigerator.
The meals are vegan, plant-based ingredients, vegetables, and fruits provide a healthy diet to modern Americans.
All the items are gluten-free, and no artificial additives or preservatives are added. The meal requires minimum preparation before having it. The meal is heated or blended either with water or milk.
The company offers more than 80 plant-based food for vegetarians. However, these meals will not be enough for adults to fill. The meals are expensive but healthier for those with busy schedules.
The customers have to choose what items they want as they do not have any predesigned menus. The plans available are monthly or weekly. A customer can order 9, 12, or 24 items in a week and 24 items in a month.
All the meals are lower in calories and proteins. The meals maintain a healthy diet but may not be fresh because they are frozen and delivered with dry ice. The items can be frozen for up to three months.
The meals of Daily Harvest may not be suitable for customers who have allergy problems. It only serves vegetarian food and not meat.
What is Thistle?
Thistle is also a private company in the food and beverage industry. Thistle is a meal delivery service providing company founded by Ashwin Cheriyan- an entrepreneur, in 2013.
It is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, and provides its customers with an organic, nutritious meal. The company aims to reduce the hurdles in maintaining a diet by supplying a healthy and high-protein diet prepared by nutritionists.
All the dishes are prepared by the chef with high-quality nutrients and proteins. It provides breakfast, lunch, dinner, and side dishes for vegetarians and omnivores.
The meals also support weight loss and are free from gluten, artificial preservatives, additives, dairy ingredients, and eggs. Vegan meal plans have options like three days, five days, and six days per week.
The price of the meal depends on the number of items ordered. The omnivore plans have five days and six days per week. Customers with allergies and diet restrictions have fewer options.
The meals are enough for everyone and boost energy. However, these are more expensive than other service providers. The meals do not require any further cooking and can be taken either cold or hot.
Main Differences Between Daily Harvest and Thistle
- The Daily Harvest Company was started in 2015 by Rachel Drori, and the Thistle Company was started in 2013 by an entrepreneur- Ashwin Cheriyan.
- The Daily Harvest food items are frozen and delivered in a recyclable cardboard box. The meal items of Thistle are delivered fresh in thermal cooler bags, which are also reusable.
- The Daily Harvest foods are only for vegetarians, while the Thistle offers food items both for vegetarians and omnivores.
- The Daily Harvest foods require cooking or blending with water or milk, while the Thistle food items require no to minimum cooking without any additional ingredients.
- The Daily Harvest food does not provide proteins, while the Thistle food improves energy levels, skin health, and weight loss.
Sandeep Bhandari holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Computers from Thapar University (2006). He has 20 years of experience in the technology field. He has a keen interest in various technical fields, including database systems, computer networks, and programming. You can read more about him on his bio page.