Skincare company focuses on quality natural ingredients

Kettle Care Botanicals has had a more than four-decade commitment to making skin care as natural as possible. It’s a commitment that owners Klaus and Annegret Pfeifer hope to continue well into the future.  

Originally created in 1983 and acquired by the Pfeifers in 2012, Kettle Care offers a range of natural products in the Kalispell shop, online store and various retailers across the valley. From products focused on limiting aging to a line focused on outdoor enthusiasts, there is something for everyone, Annegret said.  

“Mother nature knows a thing or two about keeping our skin healthy and glowing,” their website states. “Plants deliver the perfect combination of elements for our skin. Our formulations are grounded in this perfection.”  

Annegret and Klaus met back home in Germany and got married 43 years ago. Klaus, with a background in semiconductor advanced research and development as a physicist and chemist, worked for a Dutch company that allowed the Pfeifers to travel for work. They landed in Kalispell for a stint with Applied Materials.  

Klaus retired from his corporate job well experienced in the manufacturing process. When the couple acquired Kettle Care, it made sense as a semi-retirement job. 

“If you don’t have a good product, you won’t have a good business,” Klaus said, walking through the shop.  

Klaus created a vertical integration system at the facility, where everything is created in house, including essential oils. All products go in via the back entrance and are brought to two labs where the product creation begins.  

“Plant material in, labeled and packaged products in,” Klaus said.  

After labeling and packaging, the items either go to the storefront, located in the same building, or back to the shipment area to be shipped out for orders or wholesale. Everything is made in small batches to ensure high quality, they said.  

“We did a lot of work in making it reproduceable,” Annegret said. “We have really good quality control here, a product that you get today will be the same in a year.”  

The products have at least a two-year shelf life, Klaus said, but often last longer.  

Ingredients are sourced locally, when possible, like the terrapin that comes from a nearby farm, but selections are also made based on quality.  The lavender comes from the mountains in France and sunflower oils from Ukraine, both ingredients that are guaranteed to not be genetically modified.  

Kettle Care focuses on formulating natural products. The concentrated creams and lotions are formulated with raw Montana beeswax instead of chemical vegetable emulsifying waxes. They use essential oils with no added fragrances.  

The Pfeifers recommend using only a third of the products compared to the usual use of a similar skin care product. Because products contain less water there is less evaporation, fewer preservatives and therefore more concentrated. 

The Pfeifers run with a small staff of lab technicians and a front-of-house team. While they are still growing in terms of products and reach, they hope to maintain their close-knit, intentional feel. 

“We’re still growing, and we want to do that in a very focused way,” Annegret said.  

Kettle Care Botanicals is located at 3575 U.S. 93 N. The product shop is open from Wednesday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. but they so allow for product pickup by appointment at other times.  

The online store can be visited at kettlecare.com and products can be bought at Withey’s Health Foods, Third Street Market, Sun Life Health Foods,  The Toggery stores in Whitefish and Kalispell, Montana Meadow Herbs, Blacktail Family Foods and others.  

Reporter Kate Heston may be reached at 758-4459 or kheston@dailyinterlake.com.

    Kettle Care Botanicals is an all-natural skin care business made in Kalispell. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)
  

    Klaus and Annegret Pfeifer, owners of Kettle Care Botanicals in Kalispell. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)
  

    Kettle Care Botanicals is an all natural skin care business made in Kalispell. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)
  

    Kettle Care Botanicals is an all natural skin care business made in Kalispell. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)