Jennifer Garner, co-founder of Once Upon a Farm, center, and Cassandra Curtis, co-founder of Once Upon a Farm, center right, during the company’s initial public offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, United States, on Friday, February 6, 2026.
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Once upon a farm made its public market debut Friday, trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “OFRM.”
The stock opened at $21 per share, up 16% from its IPO price. Shares closed Friday up 17%.
The organic children’s nutrition company on Thursday priced its IPO at $18 per share, in the middle of the expected range of $17 to $19. There was a farm and its backers sold about 11 million shares, raising $197.9 million and valuing the company at $724 million.
Founded in 2015 by Cassandra Curtis and Ari Raz, the Berkeley, California-based company sells a line of organic cold-processed and refrigerated baby foods and children’s snacks. In 2017, actress Jennifer Garner and former Annie’s Homegrown CEO John Foraker joined the company as co-founders. Garner sits on the company’s board of directors and holds the official title of “Farmer Jen,” while Foraker, whom she calls the “Grand Poobah of organic,” is CEO.
“We want to feed big kids’ babies because we help make parents’ lives easier,” Garner told CNBC.
Once Upon a Farm’s market debut comes as shoppers and policymakers have moved away from ultra-processed foods, especially when consumed by children. For example, the “Make America Healthy Again” movement, led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., has found evangelists in so-called MAHA moms, who agree with its views on everything from junk food to childhood vaccinations.
This shift in behavior has hurt Big Food, while fueling the growth of insurgent brands like Once Upon a Farm. In 2024, the company reported net revenue of $156.8 million, up 66% from the previous year, although its losses widened from $17.6 million to $23.8 million, according to a regulatory filing.
“With these tailwinds and consumer trends in the right place, we’re really trying to take advantage of that and offer more to consumers,” Foraker said in an interview.
Retailers have taken note of this shift and are giving organic foods a prominent place, a far cry from Foraker’s early days at Annie’s, when his products were relegated to the junk organic corner of grocery stores, he said.
Once Upon a Farm, which is officially designated as a public benefit corporation, aims to “drive systemic change in children’s nutrition,” according to its mission statement. Foraker said his commitment to that goal is why he chose to go public rather than seek a sale, a much more common ambition for new consumer goods companies.
Although Foraker said he had a good experience with General mills after purchasing Annie’s in 2014, he noted that in the food industry, many companies fail to deliver on the promises they make to the brands they buy and fail to honor their mission. (Look no further than the years-long dispute between Ben & Jerry’s and its former owner. Unilever and current parent company Magnum Ice Cream Co., spun off from Dove’s owner last year.)
Once Upon a Farm planned to go public last year, before the longest government shutdown disrupted those plans. The company plans to spend the IPO proceeds to pay down debt, purchase new equipment and fund general corporate purposes, according to a regulatory filing.
Generally speaking, more IPOs are expected this year, thanks to interest rate cuts and a significant delay from companies spooked by market volatility and recession fears. This week alone, seven companies went public through IPOs that raised at least $150 million each, including Bob’s Discount Furniture, according to data from Renaissance Capital.