The first health plan where the food is the medicine.
tati. Health covers daily employer meals as a core plan benefit — structured so the benefit the plan pays for is the same thing that reduces every other claim the plan pays.
A new category of health insurance. Built around food.
tati. Health sits at the intersection of three legally established frameworks — IRS §119 employer meal deductions, IRS §125 supplemental benefits, and employer-sponsored health insurance — combined into a single employer product that no other company in America offers.
— the covered meal benefit is not a wellness add-on. It is the primary clinical intervention that makes the plan structurally more profitable.
US Employer Health Spend
$1.1T
annually · growing 6–8%/yr
Claims Driven by Chronic Disease
86%
diet-modifiable conditions
Projected Claims Reduction
15–25%
with daily chef-prepared meals
Food-as-Medicine Carriers Today
zero.
the category is completely unoccupied
Co-founded by Chef Tatiana Palacio (tati. Food Group, Wynwood Miami), Alexandre Camus (Managing Director, Emanay Advisory), and Alejandro — who operates one of the fastest-growing health and life insurance agencies in Florida with 200+ licensed agents and a direct relationship with the ownership of Family First Life (FFL).
02 · The Problem
Health insurance is designed to pay for sickness. Nobody profits from prevention.
That is the largest arbitrage opportunity in American healthcare. It has been sitting in plain sight for decades.
The clinical reality
86% of US healthcare costs are attributable to chronic disease — diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, obesity. These are not genetic inevitabilities. They are, in large measure, dietary outcomes.
Employers bear the majority of this cost through group health premiums increasing 6–8% annually — regardless of what their employees eat.
The structural failure
Every carrier in America prices premiums based on actuarial tables that assume employees eat the average American diet. No carrier has ever priced a plan assuming employees eat nutritionist-aligned, chef-prepared meals every day — because no carrier has ever been in a position to guarantee that outcome.
tati. Health is the first entity that controls both the food and the insurance simultaneously.
Annual Employer Health Cost
$16,253
per employee · 2025 average
YoY Premium Increase
7.2%
employers absorbing most of it
Employees with Diet-Related Conditions
60%
of the covered workforce nationally
Carriers Using Food as Medicine
zero.
market completely unoccupied
03 · The Solution
Not a meal delivery company that sells insurance.
An insurance carrier whose primary clinical intervention is food — delivered daily, at the place of business, under a structure already blessed by the IRS.
Layer One · The Meal Program
tati. Food Group
Chef Tatiana Palacio's Wynwood kitchen provides nutritionist-aligned, chef-prepared meals to employer clients at the place of business. Under IRS §119, 100% deductible for the employer. Tax-free to the employee. The clinical engine of the entire model.
Layer Two · Supplemental Benefits
tati. Benefits
IRS §125 supplemental benefits generating FICA payroll tax savings of 7.65% on redirected compensation. Average employer saves $500–$800 per enrolled W2 employee per year. This layer funds itself.
Layer Three · Health Insurance
tati. Health
The health plan covers the meal program as a core benefit. §119 handles most of the meal cost. The plan covers the gap. Employees eat daily. Claims go down. The benefit pays for itself.
Why this has never existed
Three conditions had to be simultaneously true:
✓
An operator who controls the food
A real kitchen, a real chef, a proven corporate meal program. Most insurers have no food operation and no path to build one.
✓
A licensed insurance distribution infrastructure
Building 200+ licensed agents takes years. Most food operators have zero insurance relationships.
✓
The benefits architecture knowledge
The §119 + §125 + health plan layering requires deep familiarity with IRS code, ERISA plan design, and carrier product development — simultaneously.
tati. Health is the first company in America to possess all three simultaneously. That is the moat.
04 · The Mechanism
A self-funding loop. The covered benefit reduces the cost of every other covered benefit.
Step 01
Employer enrolls
Meal program, §125 benefits, and health coverage activated simultaneously.
Step 02
§119 deduction
Employer deducts 100% of meal cost. Net cost drops significantly from day one.
Step 03
Plan covers gap
Health plan covers the meal cost not offset by §119 — as a core plan benefit, not an add-on.
Step 04
Employees eat daily
Chef Tatiana's meals at the place of business. Daily. Consistent. Tracked per individual.
Step 05
Claims decline
Chronic disease markers improve. ER visits, prescriptions, and specialist referrals measurably decrease.
Step 06
Carrier profits
Loss ratio improves. Carrier prices competitively. Margin advantage compounds at every renewal.
The legal foundation
No new legislation. No IRS ruling. No regulatory invention.
Framework
What It Provides
Status
IRS §119
Employer meals at place of business: 100% deductible for employer, tax-free to employee
Existing Law
IRS §125
Supplemental cafeteria plan generating FICA savings for employer and employee
Existing Law
ERISA
Self-funded employer plans may define covered benefits with broad flexibility, including meal preparation
Existing Law
ACA / State Code
Sets minimum essential coverage floors — does not prohibit meal preparation as an additional benefit
Existing Law
Florida OIR
Defined carrier licensing pathway; process for new applications and shell acquisitions
Defined Process
05 · Market Opportunity
$1.1 trillion. Never approached from the direction of food.
The category does not yet exist. The entire market is addressable by the first mover.
Total Addressable Market
$1.1T
US employer-sponsored health insurance spend annually. Growing 6–8% per year.
Serviceable Addressable Market
$180B
Small-to-mid employers (10–500 employees) — most underserved by major carriers, most receptive to a bundled solution.
Initial Target Market
$4.2B
Florida employer health market — Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach — where tati. already operates and Alejandro's agency is licensed.
Competitive landscape — the white space
Category
Who exists
What they miss
Major Carriers
UnitedHealth, Aetna, Cigna, BCBS, Humana
No food operation. No ability to control nutrition. No §119 structure.
Insurtech Carriers
Oscar, Bright Health, Clover, Friday Health
Technology-led only. No food. No chef. No employer meal program.
Food-as-Medicine Startups
Season Health, Eat Well Nashville, Foodshed
Clinical tools, not carriers. Work with insurers — do not become them.
MA Meal Benefits
Humana, UnitedHealth post-discharge meals
7–14 meals post-hospitalization. Not daily. Not employer programs. Not chef-prepared.
Corporate Cafeterias
Google, Meta, Apple
Not carriers. Cannot capture the actuarial savings. Only available to mega-employers.
06 · Business Model
Three revenue streams per enrolled employee. Every employee. Every month.
Stream 01 · Meal Program
Lunch · 5 days/week$7–$15/meal
Dinner add-on · optional$7–$15/meal
§119 employer deduction100%
Annual / Employee$1,820–$3,900
Stream 02 · tati. Benefits (§125)
Referral fee / employee / mo$20–$40
Employer FICA savings7.65%
Employee FICA savings7.65%
Annual / Employee$240–$480
Stream 03 · Health Insurance
Broker commission / employee / mo$40–$100
Carrier premium (Phase 3)Retained
Loss ratio advantage15–25 pts
Annual / Employee$480–$1,200
Blended Revenue / Employee / Year
$2,540
conservative estimate
At 1,000 Covered Lives
$2.5M
annual recurring revenue
At 10,000 Covered Lives
$25M
annual recurring revenue
At 100,000 Covered Lives
$254M
annual recurring revenue
The carrier margin advantage
Metric
Industry Average
tati. Health (Projected)
Medical Loss Ratio
83–87%
65–72% (with meal intervention)
Administrative Cost Ratio
12–15%
10–12%
Operating Margin
2–5%
15–25% (projected)
Employer Renewal Rate
72% industry average
85%+ (meal program creates switching costs)
07 · Entity Structure
Four entities. One system. One brand.
Each layer has its own legal basis, tax treatment, and revenue logic — unified under the tati. brand.
tati. Health Co.
Proposed holding company and future licensed insurance carrier. Florida OIR application or carrier shell acquisition in progress. Owns the tati. Health brand and insurance product structure.
Proposed · Phase 3
tati. Food Group
Chef Tatiana Palacio's operating kitchen, Wynwood, Miami. Produces and delivers nutritionist-aligned employer meals under IRS §119. Co-owned by Tatiana Palacio and Alejandro. The clinical engine of the insurance model.
Operating · §119
tati. Benefits
IRS §125 supplemental benefits provider (Add Benefits LLC). Generates FICA payroll tax savings for employers with W2 employees. Emanay Advisory earns a referral fee per enrolled employee per month for the life of each client.
Operating · §125
Emanay Advisory
Structures and distributes the corporate meal program. Manages client relationships, proposal process, and onboarding. Earns referral fees from tati. Benefits and commissions on insurance placements.
Operating · Advisory
Alejandro's Agency
Licensed health and life insurance agency in Florida. 200+ licensed agents. Co-owned by tati. Food Group principal. Immediate distribution of the full tati. bundle. Pipeline to FFL national network.
Operating · Licensed Agency
Near-term move: Establish tati. Health Co. as a Florida holding entity above all operating subsidiaries — the clean corporate structure required for the carrier license application, venture fundraising, and the FFL joint venture conversation.
08 · Distribution
Distribution advantages that would take any competing carrier a decade to build.
— they already exist. They are already producing.
Tier One · Immediate
200+ licensed agents
Alejandro's Florida agency provides immediate, licensed distribution of the full tati. bundle. Each agent carries a completely differentiated door opener — the meal program — that no competing agent or broker anywhere can offer.
Tier Two · Near-Term
FFL partnership
Family First Life is one of the largest IMOs in the United States. Direct relationship with FFL ownership creates a path to deploying the tati. bundle across 35,000–50,000 agents nationally through a joint venture or preferred distribution agreement.
Tier Three · Long-Term
National carrier
As a licensed carrier, tati. Health contracts with independent brokers nationally. The food-as-medicine story is a national media and broker marketing story that creates inbound demand without traditional carrier acquisition costs.
The FFL opportunity — quantified
Scenario
Active FFL Agents
Clients / Agent / Qtr
Avg Employees
Covered Lives / Year
Annual Revenue
Conservative · 1%
350–500
1
20
28,000–40,000
$71M–$102M
Base Case · 3%
1,050–1,500
1
25
105,000–150,000
$267M–$381M
Optimistic · 5%
1,750–2,500
2
25
350,000–500,000
$889M–$1.27B
09 · Path to Carrier Status
Four phases. Each one profitable. Each one de-risks the next.
The carrier license is the destination. The journey generates revenue from day one.
Phase One Now – 12 Mo
Bundle launch & data collection
Launch the full tati. bundle through Alejandro's 200-agent network. Structure 10–25 corporate clients on level-funded or self-funded plans. Begin systematic claims data collection. File tati. Health trademark and provisional patent on the §119 + health plan mechanism. Establish holding entity structure.
Target: 500–1,000 covered lives · $1.5–2.5M ARR
Phase Two 12 – 24 Mo
FFL distribution & carrier preparation
Formalize FFL joint venture or preferred distribution agreement. Deploy tati. bundle to FFL agents in Florida then nationally. Engage actuary for formal claims data analysis. Identify acquirable carrier shells through Alejandro and FFL relationships. Raise seed or Series A using live data and FFL distribution proof.
Complete Florida OIR carrier license application or close carrier shell acquisition. Launch tati. Health as a licensed carrier in Florida — meals embedded as a covered plan benefit, first in the United States. Retain full insurance premium. Begin reciprocal licensing in adjacent states.
Publish peer-reviewed claims data on the food-as-medicine actuarial advantage. License tati. kitchen model to operators in new markets. Series B/C raise or strategic acquisition discussion with major carrier. Medicare Advantage expansion using existing meal infrastructure.
Target: 100,000+ covered lives · $250M+ ARR
Path A · Build — OIR Application
Build new
→
Timeline: 18–24 months from filing
→
Capital: $5–25M surplus + legal/actuarial
→
Advantage: Clean entity. Full brand control. No legacy liabilities.
→
Risk: OIR process is slow and expensive during application.
Risk: Legacy liabilities require thorough due diligence.
10 · Unit Economics
Per employee. Per year. Three streams. One relationship.
Revenue Component
Conservative
Base Case
Optimistic
Meal Program · lunch only · 50 weeks
$1,750
$2,500
$3,750
tati. Benefits · §125 referral fee
$240
$360
$480
Health Insurance · broker commission
$480
$720
$1,200
Total Revenue / Employee / Year
$2,470
$3,580
$5,430
Meal Program COGS · ~40%
($700)
($1,000)
($1,500)
Gross Profit / Employee / Year
$1,770
$2,580
$3,930
The carrier premium math
Metric
Standard Carrier
tati. Health (Projected)
Advantage
Annual Premium / Employee
$8,435
$7,800 (below market)
Employer saves $635/employee
Medical Loss Ratio
85%
68% (projected)
17 points of additional margin
Claims Paid / Employee
$7,170
$5,304
$1,866 less per employee
Operating Margin
3%
20% (projected)
7× industry average
The self-funding threshold: At a 20% claims reduction, the meal benefit breaks even against claims savings at approximately $12,500 annual premium per employee. Above that — every dollar spent on meals generates more than a dollar in claims savings. The benefit funds itself.
11 · Team & Principals
Three principals. Every capability required. Never before in one company.
Co-Founder · Brand & Kitchen
Chef Tatiana Palacio
Founder and operator of tati. Food Group and tati. Eats LLC, Wynwood, Miami. The culinary credibility, the operational kitchen, and the brand identity that no insurance carrier in America can replicate. The face of the food-as-medicine story.
✓
Operating kitchen, Wynwood Miami
✓
Culinary brand & public profile
✓
Proven corporate meal program
Co-Founder · Structure & Advisory
Alexandre Camus
Managing Director, Emanay Advisory. Architected the §119 + §125 + health insurance bundle structure. Manages corporate client relationships, proposal process, and distribution strategy. Deep familiarity with IRS code and ERISA plan design.
✓
Benefits architecture expertise
✓
Corporate client distribution
✓
§119/§125 structure in production
Co-Founder · Insurance & Distribution
Alejandro
Co-owner of tati. Food Group. Operates one of the fastest-growing health and life insurance agencies in Florida. 200+ licensed agents. Direct relationship with FFL ownership. Deep carrier relationships across Florida and nationally.
✓
200+ licensed agents, active today
✓
FFL ownership relationship
✓
Carrier shell acquisition pipeline
Key external relationships
Party
Role
Strategic Value
Family First Life (FFL)
IMO · National agent network
35,000–50,000 agents; direct path to national distribution; carrier relationship access
Evan Chandonnet, CPA
§119 tax counsel · Emanay Accounting
Confirmed §119 deductibility; ongoing compliance and client-facing reference
Add Benefits LLC
§125 plan administrator
Operational infrastructure for tati. Benefits; FICA savings mechanism already in production
FanBasis Inc. — Yash Daftary
First corporate client
Proof-of-concept employer; initial claims data source; reference client for distribution
12 · Risk Factors
A candid assessment. The risks. The mitigations. Nothing hidden.
Risk
Description & Mitigation
Severity
Regulatory Risk
Florida OIR could challenge meal preparation as a covered plan benefit in the carrier licensing context.
Mitigation: Obtain regulatory opinion letter before public launch. Start with self-funded ERISA plans where flexibility is broadest. Structure meal benefit within ACA minimum value requirements.
Medium
Capital Risk
Carrier license requires $5–25M in minimum surplus capital. Failure to raise delays or prevents Phase 3.
Mitigation: Phases 1 and 2 generate real revenue without carrier capital. FFL relationship provides access to capital-rich strategic partners. Carrier shell acquisition reduces the capital requirement significantly.
High
Actuarial Risk
Claims data may not demonstrate the projected 15–25% utilization reduction. Carrier thesis weakens without actuarial validation.
Mitigation: Clinical literature strongly supports the thesis. Data collection begins in Phase 1 before carrier capital is committed. Distribution business remains viable even if carrier thesis is delayed.
Medium
Operational Scale
Scaling Chef Tatiana's kitchen to serve thousands of employees across multiple markets is a real operational challenge.
Mitigation: Licensed kitchen model rather than centralized production. Partner with existing commercial kitchen operators in new markets. Focus initial growth on Miami-Dade where operations are established.
Medium
IP / First-Mover
A major carrier could replicate the concept once it becomes public. First-mover advantage erodes without IP protection.
Mitigation: File provisional patent on the §119 + health plan coverage mechanism immediately. Trademark tati. Health before any public presentation. Operational kitchen, chef brand, and agent network create practical moats that are slow to replicate even without IP.
Low
Key Person Risk
Chef Tatiana is central to the brand. Alejandro's agency is central to distribution. Departure of either would be materially disruptive.
Mitigation: Both principals are co-owners with fully aligned economic incentives. Long-term equity vesting. Brand architecture separates tati. Health from dependence on any single individual over time.
Low
13 · Use of Proceeds
Two tranches. Tranche One builds the data. Tranche Two buys the license.
Tranche One — Seed · $2–5M
Prove the distribution model, begin claims data collection, protect IP, establish the holding entity structure.
Consulting actuary, claims data platform, population health analytics
Agent Training & FFL Launch
$300K–$600K
Training materials, agent onboarding, FFL joint venture launch costs, marketing
Kitchen Scale & Operations
$500K–$1.5M
Capacity expansion in Miami; licensed kitchen partner onboarding in new markets
Working Capital
$750K–$2M
Operational runway during distribution ramp; insurance receivables float
Tranche Two — Series A · $10–25M
Finance carrier license or shell acquisition. Fund minimum surplus capital. Scale nationally through FFL.
Use
Amount
Purpose
Carrier Minimum Surplus
$5M–$15M
Florida OIR minimum surplus capital requirement for licensed carrier status
Carrier Shell Acquisition
$2M–$8M
If acquisition path chosen; due diligence, purchase price, integration costs
Reinsurance
$1M–$3M
Stop-loss reinsurance program to cap catastrophic exposure
Claims Administration
$500K–$1.5M
TPA contract or in-house claims infrastructure; provider network contracting
National Distribution
$1.5M–$3M
FFL national rollout; multi-state licensing; marketing and agent incentive programs
14 · Investment Thesis
A new category. Not a better version of an existing insurance company.
— categories are not built often. When they are, the first mover compounds every advantage.
Why now
Food-as-medicine has $50B+ in institutional support. Employer benefits bundling is accelerating. Insurtech investors are seeking differentiated underwriting theses. The regulatory window is open. The operational assets are already assembled.
Why us
No other entity in America simultaneously controls a commercial kitchen, a licensed insurance distribution network, a supplemental benefits infrastructure, a relationship with one of the largest IMOs in the country, and the actuarial thesis to tie them together.
Why this works
The mechanism is self-funding. The meal benefit the plan covers is the same mechanism that reduces the claims the plan pays. This is not a cost — it is a clinical intervention that generates its own ROI within the plan economics.