Once Upon a Firm co-founder Jennifer Garner (center) and Once Upon a Firm co-founder Cassandra Curtis (center right) during the company’s initial public offering (IPO) on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Friday, February 6, 2026, in New York, USA.
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images
old farm made its public market debut on Friday, trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “OFRM.”
The stock price opened at $21 per share, up 16% from its opening price. Shares rose 20% in afternoon trading.
The organic children’s nutrition company on Thursday priced its IPO at $18 per share, in the middle of its expected range of $17 to $19. Once Upon a Firm 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 variety of organic, cold-processed, 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 is on the company’s board and has the official title “Farmer Jen,” but Foraker, whom she calls the “Grand Poobah of organics,” is the company’s CEO.
“We want to feed babies and older kids to make life easier for parents,” Garner told CNBC.
Once Upon a Farm’s market debut comes as shoppers and policymakers alike oppose ultra-processed foods, particularly for consumption by children. For example, the Make America Healthy Again movement led by Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert Kennedy Jr. has evangelists among the so-called MAHA moms who agree with him on everything from junk food to childhood vaccinations.
While the change in behavior hurt Big Food, it also fueled the growth of rebel brands like Once Upon a Farm. The company posted net sales of $156.8 million in 2024, up 66% from a year earlier, but its loss widened from $17.6 million to $23.8 million, according to regulatory filings.
“With these tailwinds and consumer trends in place, we are working to make the most of them and provide more services to consumers,” Foraker said in an interview.
Retailers are taking notice of the change and allocating prime shelf space to organic foods, he said, a far cry from Annie’s early days when Foraker’s products were relegated to the undesirable “organic” section of grocery stores.
Officially designated as a public benefit corporation, Once Upon a Farm aims to “advance systemic change in pediatric nutrition,” according to its mission statement. Foraker said that commitment to that goal is why he chose to go public rather than sell, which is a more common goal for emerging consumer products companies.
Foraker said it was a good experience, but general mills After acquiring Annie’s in 2014, he pointed out that across the food and beverage industry, many companies are failing to live up to their missions by failing to keep their promises to the brands they acquire. (See the longstanding feud between Ben & Jerry’s and its former owner) unilever (The current parent company, Magnum Ice Cream Company, was spun out from Dove’s owners last year.)
Once Upon a Farm had planned to go public last year before the longest government shutdown in history halted plans. The company plans to use the proceeds from the IPO to repay debt, purchase new equipment and fund general corporate purposes, according to a regulatory filing.
Broadly speaking, more IPOs are expected this year, thanks to lower interest rates and a large backlog of companies spooked by market volatility and recession concerns. This week alone, seven companies went public through IPOs, each raising at least $150 million, according to data from Renaissance Capital. That includes Bob’s Discount Furniture.
