Staff
Ken VandeVrede is the Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and active Board Member of HillviewMed Inc. Ken serves on the ATACH Cannabis Beverage Council, and formerly served on the boards of both ONE Cannabis and Terra Tech Corp.
As a third-generation expert in agriculture, Ken began his cannabis career at Terra Tech Corp, the first publicly traded company in the US to touch the cannabis plant. Under Ken’s leadership, Terra Tech acquired over $150M in assets in multiple markets, and increased revenues from startup to over $40M annually.
Continuing to build upon his cannabis leadership expertise, Ken founded HillviewMed, a next-generation hemp, and cannabis company. One of the first companies to receive a hemp cultivation license in the state of New Jersey, Hillview is also the parent company for several notable brands in the cannabis space including Kalo, the first-ever truly water-soluble full spectrum cannabis beverage. In its first 18 months, Kalo grew to 10 states and 15+ distribution partners. Hillview continues to innovate towards the future, delivering consistent, reliable cannabis products to meet consumer and pharmaceutical needs through our state-of-the-art patented water-soluble process.
Most successful professional accomplishment before cannabis:
I founded Edible Garden, the leader of sustainable produce grown in zero-waste inspired™ greenhouses by local farmers who are dedicated to a farm-to-future approach. Edible Garden was one of the first companies to grow local greens and produce to ensure everyone has access to fresh tasting nutritionally dense produce. My family and I successfully exited Edible Garden when it was acquired by a public traded urban agriculture company in 2012. Moving into hemp and cannabis was a natural transition.
Company Mission:
At HillviewMed, we are committed to providing wellness to all through the power of natural ingredients, utilizing proven science and our deep rooted knowledge in agriculture.
Company’s most successful achievement:
Last year we launched our first product brand, a line of hemp-infused seltzers called Kaló, with a strategic focus on building a consumer brand and strong retail presence along the Eastern seaboard. Today, our hemp seltzer is available in eight flavors and distributed in 10 states by a collective of beer, alcohol and beverage distributors. Now we’re building on that success with the launch of a 5mg THC-infused Kaló seltzer, which we’ll introduce next month in 31 dispensaries across the state of Maine.
Has the company raised any capital (yes or no):
if so, how much?:
We have raised over $3 million from friends and family.
Any plans on raising capital in the future?
We are in the process of raising more capital to fund Kaló’s explosive growth and expand both our product line and distribution footprint.
Most important company 5-year goal:
We aim to build a successful, profitable company with consumer and pharmaceutical cannabis products, with a five-year exit in mind.
