Kate Farms Shakes Up Medical Nutrition Industry

Patients Nationwide Now Opting Santa Barbara Company’s Plant-Based Drinks

By Matt Kettmann | December 24, 2020

Anyone can buy Kate Farms products, including the chocolate, coffee, and vanilla flavors, from their website,
Amazon, or Tri-County Produce in Santa Barbara. | Credit: Courtesy

Hans Rueffert was at the apex of his career as a chef in 2005, finishing in third place on Food Network Star and making media appearances around the country. Then suddenly, he was under the knife, having a large tumor removed from his gut. It was the first of 15 surgeries that, by 2018, would remove all but one inch of his stomach and esophagus.

While recovering in the hospital after that last surgery, Rueffert, who lives about an hour north of Atlanta, was shocked once again by the so-called “nutritional” fluids that he was about to ingest through a feeding tube. “There was not a single thing in there, other than water, that was recognizable as food,” he recalled upon looking at the package. “There was not a single thing that I as a chef would use as an ingredient, not even cheap ingredients. It was just a bunch of chemical stuff.”

Kate Farms is often used by patients who need feeding tubes to survive. | Credit: Courtesy

Then a nurse mentioned Kate Farms, an organic, vegan, allergen-free option for this type of liquid nutrition, which is a primary method of feeding sick and recovering people across the world. “I didn’t know there was a healthy alternative,” said Rueffert. “Everything that was on the ingredient list were things that humans eat. It was such an epiphany moment.” Those Kate Farms nutritional shakes helped him recover quickly in the hospital, and the bottled versions remain a supplemental part of his nutrition today, enjoyed by his three sons, as well.