Brenda Wilson started out making lip balm and is now a senior member of the shipping department. Credit: Jon Whittle

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Thistle Farms, a prominent Nashville nonprofit that sells products made by survivors of prostitution and human trafficking, has signed a national distribution deal with Whole Foods. It is the company’s biggest expansion to date.

Two decades ago, a handful of women began crafting candles in a church basement. Today, Thistle Farms’ body and home goods pull in annual revenues of more than 2 million dollars, which now requires some automation on the production line.

There’s already a machine to pour wax into jars, and another that wraps boxes to be shipped around the country.

In preparation for the Whole Foods rollout in November, the women made 30,000 of their signature candles in six weeks. Last year, they made 50,000 in the entire year.

Which means they’re also outgrowing their manufacturing space on Charlotte Pike. CEO Hal Cato walked me through a newly acquired facility– ten times larger than the current one.

“Right now it’s just a big empty warehouse,” he says. “But by next February this will be where all of our products that are shipped nationwide are sold, packaged and picked.”

Ramping up will require more help. Cato hopes to one day even begin hiring from other recovery programs, and not just their own, called Magdalene. But for now, they’re mostly expanding shifts, providing even more work for women like Brenda Wilson. A recent graduate of the two-year program, she went from making lip balms to senior shipping specialist.

Wilson, who co-workers say is known for the motto “dreamwork is teamwork,” is excited. “There’s opportunity for us to grow with our company and grow within ourselves.”

This expansion into Whole Foods in the US and Canada coincides with the company’s 20

th anniversary next year, which they’ll celebrate by renovating the Thistle Stop Café. In April they’ll also unveil a new logo, more prominently focused on their message, “Love Heals.”

With all these changes in the works, Cato aims to quadruple Thistle Farms’ current revenues — in two or three years.