From Startup to NYSE: Once Upon a Farm’s Mission-Driven Growth

0:00It showed that the industry itself was sleepy and was missing some of the innovation, that there was a real demand for doing better. And the assumption that mission and margin fight each other was something that we just fundamentally rejected. And as one of the only, I think there are 18 PBCs, public benefit corp companies, actively trading on the markets right now. And we are the only kids brand. So for us, that responsibility is really something that drives us because we have to be the proof point. We have to be successful because we want others to join us on this journey.

0:49Welcome to Retail Remix. I'm your host, Kate Robertson, editor in chief of Retail Touchpoints. Katie Marston, Chief Marketing Officer of Once Upon a Farm, built her career across Adidas, Kendra Scott, and Brew Dr. Kombucha before landing in Kids Food. In February 2026, Once Upon a Farm, which was co-founded by actor Jennifer Garner and is led by the former CEO of Annie's, John Foraker, went public on the New York Stock Exchange, raising nearly$200 million at a$724 million valuation. Today, Katie and I will get into what that milestone means for the company and the broader conversation around children's nutrition.

1:33Katie also shares how the brand navigates inflation and premium pricing, how the company is rethinking retail with its innovative cooler program, and of course, what she's learned from Jen Garner, who is highly involved in the brand. Let's get into it.

1:52Katie, thank you so much for joining Retail Remix. Thank you, Kate and Katie this morning. Yeah, story of my life. I was so interested to see your previous roles at Adidas and Kendra Scott through Dr. Kombucha before you landed in Kids Food. What was it about children's nutrition that really drew you in? You know, there were really two things. Health, wellness, mission-driven companies have been a red thread throughout my entire career. I've been lucky. I've worked for some really great people, really great companies. And then I had two kids and babies back-to-back and type A and was going to make all my own food.

2:37Like, that was just what I was going to do. And I hear this story all the time. It's actually Jen's story, too, and why she sought out Cassandra and came on board as a co-founder. At that time, there was nothing like Once Upon a Farm available to me. And as my kids grew up, there's a different challenge that you're dealing with. And it's what is going into the lunchbox? What is being consumed after school? And sugar is really introduced in a much larger way. And when I got a chance to talk to John Forger, who's an industry icon, and Jen and Cassandra, selfishly, I came on board because it was solving a problem for me.

3:18It was guardrails that I believed in, always organic, real food, using a new technology that allowed for taste, texture, nutrients of real fruits and vegetables in a convenient way to be served to my child. And then you had lunchbox items like bars that were fruits and veggies and oats and no added sugar that actually kids wanted to eat. So the belief was there. The company was there. And I got to come on board. I mean, how lucky am I and help build the brand around that greatness? And it's honestly been the most fun and rewarding job I've ever had. Yeah, it was so interesting to read about Once Upon a Farm going public, of course, in February 2026.

4:00It's a big move. You raised nearly$200 million, landed on the New York Stock Exchange at a$724 million valuation. It's so interesting to see that, you know, belief in the types of food that you're just describing is sort of mainstream. It's not necessarily niche. How did you interpret sort of how the market was responding? Oh, man. I mean, I joke that I was the last to leave the New York Stock Exchange building that day. And I was like, oh, I'll walk home and I'll walk to the hotel and like soak it all in. And one, I was in heels and I was like mad at myself halfway through. And I, you know, collapsed once I got to the hotel.

4:43But looking back and even the end of that day and that reflection of my painful walk to the hotel, it was so validating in a way that goes well beyond us. It showed that the industry itself was sleepy and was missing some of the innovation, that there was a real demand for doing better. And the assumption that mission and margin fight each other was something that we just fundamentally rejected. And as one of the only, I think there are 18 PBCs, public benefit corp companies, actively trading on the markets right now. And we are the only kids brand. So for us, that responsibility is really something that drives us because we have to be the proof point.

5:32We have to be successful because we want others to join us on this journey. And it allows us to fund our mission and do things our way without changing some of those guardrails that we really believe in that might go because of someone that wants to increase profit even greater. You mentioned, of course, one of your co-founders, Jennifer Garner, the actor. Actually, my friends and I last night were just like ranking our favorite Jennifer Garner movies last night because I was telling them that I was doing this interview today. And you mentioned John Forker as well, who was the CEO of Annie's, sort of a beloved macaroni and cheese brand.

6:13How much do you think those presences or that kind of leadership at Once Upon a Farm kind of drove value for investors or sort of validated the project? It is great. Our founder team, it's very validating for that, right? Like, because what everyone fundamentally agrees with and what the buy-in was that kids deserve better, they deserve better food. And you can't argue that. And when then it is backed by the expertise, the business acumen, there's no one more trusted, you know, than Jen Garner when it comes to driving mission and being a good human. and Cassandra as a brilliant, like true proof point of a mom doing this in her kitchen with her first baby, that trio really helped set the tone and the belief of being like, this isn't a huge risk to buy in.

7:07It's actually a long-term play that we are going to see be successful. And what has being a public company allowed you to do that you couldn't do before? You know, it has fueled parts of the business that we've been wanting to invest in for some time, whether, you know, that's the vision that our Larry Waldman has for operations and being able to grow at scale. It's continuing to invest in our suppliers and our mission work and how we get in front of parents as their ally. I would say that the transparency and the accountability that it brings, we are fortunate because we were doing things almost as a public benefits corporate public company from day one.

7:58Like Cassandra, you know, believed in setting the groundwork with a lot of firsts and John and Jen came on board and they were very similar. So while capital unlocks scale, we didn't have to change a lot of how we were acting. And it really raises the bar on our mission work to drive systemic change in children's nutrition. So we're just confident and crazy enough to actually like that accountability and transparency. Because if you say we are going to create systemic change in children's nutrition, you better put your money where your mouth is. And that is something we remind ourselves of daily.

8:37Tell me more about how you reach families. Like, you know, of course, when we're talking about premium, nutritional, nutritious food for kids, it would, I would imagine, come with a higher price tag than what you see, you know, in jars on grocery store shelves. Tell me more about how you are able to reach families who are under so much pressure these days because of high fuel costs and inflation and everything is just so expensive. Have you been noticing any shifts in your customers and how they're reallocating money? It's a hard time to be anyone right now in these economic times. And you do see you see choices that are being made differently.

9:23And we look at it and as far as we're concerned, farm fresh, organic, good food should be right and it shouldn't be a privilege. And so we continue to kind of work against that every day. It's why early on we were like we are going to take part and be the first brand of our kind as a WIC with WIC availability. I actively in my role with the team are looking at accessibility of price points within our, you know, innovation pipeline. We look at pack size and value and where we're distributed, our retail partners. And what we hear time and time again from parents and what we're seeing in the data is that parents may be making choices differently about where they shop or when they shop, looking for promotions.

10:10It was a big reason, too, why, like, our club strategy and the work we do with Walmart is to make sure that our products are much more accessible and they are not shifting out of the brand. They may be making different choices about where and when they buy that. And on us as a responsibility is to continue to drive opportunity for greater accessibility wherever we can find it. And we hope others do the same.

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11:20Yeah, I find, I mean, and of course, there's a whole spectrum of, you know, what people are dealing with with affordability. I notice among my peers that people tend to really prioritize what they're putting in their bodies and their health. And that's sort of at the top of the, you know, the priority list. And then it seems like discretionary spending around maybe entertainment might be coming down or like other things that maybe are a little bit less health oriented. Is that something that you think is sort of a trend among your customers? I do. And I think younger generations, younger parents understand it even more so that the food fuels your daily performance.

12:06It fuels opportunity and potential, especially in kids. And I say pet parents are the same. Like you will skimp on other things first and then you will skimp on yourself. And then, you know, the last resort is making changes to what your kids or your pets are eating or doing in order to remain healthy and achieve their fullest potential. And so that is something that as, you know, we build products and look at the future landscape like we are very much aware of. Refrigeration is such a big piece of what you do. And you mentioned the rise of, you know, raw pet food. Certainly we're seeing that whole trend take off right now.

12:46And there are all of these challenges around refrigeration in retailers and solving that problem, presenting products in a nice way and making sure you keep them cool. Tell me more about how you're working with retailers to do that and to present those products in a way that invites customers in. Yeah, I think because we saw it in pet food, like I know Jen and John and Cassandra thought it would be so much early, easier early on. And I got a chance, you know, I reflected with John on this topic recently. And it was a lot of no's. It was way more no's and or yeses and failures with our top retail partners than I thought or remembered.

13:26and every single one of those failures and successes like led to learnings. The belief system was there. Like we are so lucky that Target, Walmart, like they really did try and fail and try and fail and continue to stick with it and learn from each experience because the belief of this transforming the baby aisle was so great for both us and the retailer because of what it would do for the consumer. Each time we put a cooler in a baby aisle, it is extremely incremental. You have to replace the sales right of what you're taking out and better them. It's creating its own case studies because it is an investment.

14:10Like you're adding, you're needing to add electricity. You're needing to change the way the store looks. But from a marketing perspective, it is, I couldn't ask for a better beacon of branding and a showcase of like you're looking there and you're like, oh my gosh, this looks so fresh. and delicious. And it has been huge for not just new customer acquisition for us, but as I said, we found that there are new customer acquisition for the aisle for the category itself because parents weren't finding what they wanted there. And so as we've seen and optimized the portfolio, we've seen that part grow for us as a brand.

14:48And now we get to bring them along the journey and show them that they've got a trusted brand now for the next seven to 10 years as their kid is looking for new snack options that they're actually going to eat. And is there also like a portable cooler type of product as well? Or is that just something like how do if you're packing your kids lunch, they're just you just include your own like ice pack or something like that? Is that sort of how it works? There's a few common pouch koozie. There's a joke that like created created the pouch Thank you for my time in Texas where, you know, there were koozies everywhere.

15:24We came up with a pouch koozie that is like a little, you put it in the freezer, you can put your pouch in it and put it in the lunchbox. And we're lucky enough, like so many lunchboxes nowadays have refrigeration capabilities, freezer capabilities to keep food cold. Oh, that's so funny. So, okay. So let's talk more about children's nutrition and systemic change because, you know, we've seen this in schools, you know, lots of talk about systemic change in children's nutrition and what that actually looks like in practice. We see a lot of reporting on, you know, less than nutritious foods made at schools.

16:05Of course, affordability continues to be an issue. How are you as a company working to close those gaps and participate in sort of making children's food more nutritious at a systemic level? Yeah, making as I kind of said, if you make a big statement, like creating systemic change in children's nutrition, it's not just a short term play. Like we are in this for the long haul, as we said, you know, we thought coolers would be super easy. It was not like we're now, it started to turn in 2020. They were first having conversations in 2016, 2017. And now we're at a real tipping point in 2026 with our 3 ,500 coolers and growing.

16:48So that is, you know, one example of a really long journey. You have to be committed to also being first and being an example. So Cassandra from being the first clean label awarded baby and kids food brand over eight years ago before people even knew what clean label award was. It was like we are going to we need to be third party validated in this, not just say it ourselves. You know, our commitment to WIC, our first brand to sign on to EFI, the Equitable Food Initiative, which was really big for Jen and farm worker well-being. And then being the PBC, you know, kids brand that goes public. So access mission change goes far beyond what we sell.

17:31It's kind of infused in everything we do. At the end of the day, though, I don't want to say like it's just about making it taste great. And that is really hard. Like that is really hard. But if we could do all of these things and if we're not going to get a kid to eat the product or enjoy eating the product, ask for it again, then none of that matters as much. So we focus as much around everything we do has to be a taste wins initiative in order to then fulfill and make everything else that we've done actually be amplified. When it comes to, you know, being a woman in marketing in a senior role, is there on a personal level something that you have learned along the way that you wish someone had told you earlier in your career?

18:18expertise makes you confident. Curious brings you growth. Like I love that. I have worked in a multitude of different industries. And so a lot of the times the expertise wasn't expected to travel in. And so I had to be curious. And that humbles you in a way that has you asking questions that people might not ask or learning or forging relationships earlier on so that you gain the trust to make change. And I would tell anyone that was younger, say yes to lateral moves, say yes to uncomfortable, you know, new job situations to give you some of that added expertise. Because if you're curious, the additional expertise comes and that only makes you stronger and more valuable to the next company that you join or the company that you start.

19:10And so that's kind of the advice I'd give. And then myself, especially as a woman, I was lucky enough to have career shepherds, people that believed in me and opened doors and gave me the confidence to not feel like an imposter, even though I still do. It really does matter who you surround yourself with to get you to that next level where you can you can grow. And what about on the flip side? Are you a shepherd to younger women or otherwise in your field that, yeah, are you a mentor? I hope so. I consider if I've managed you once, I'll manage you for life. Like you can call me at any time. Your career may be with us.

19:51It may be with 10 different companies and I'll be your champion. Like it is something that I take very seriously and am surrounded by people far smarter than myself. Like that's another thing. Hire someone that can not only do your job at the job above you, like don't be threatened by that and and make sure that you give every opportunity for them to shine. Like that is something I am very lucky for the teams that I get to work with and hope that I can be even half as good as the people that shepherded, you know, me along my career. And I would be letting our listeners down if I didn't ask about Jen Garner, one of your founders.

20:27How involved is she in the brand? And what has she taught you about marketing that you're bringing into this role? I mean, Jen is, Jen's incredible. Like truly, truly, I texted her yesterday that she's a multifaceted badass. Like, you know, who takes their company public and then just got her binge worthy show renewed. And she goes to more sales calls than I do. She sits on meetings every week. The amount of notebooks that she has filled. Like she is incredibly smart. She's got high business acumen and really in our board meeting that we had this week is incredibly involved and drives our mission and the tone.

21:08It costs nothing to be kind. And so that is that is why we communicate with parents the way we are. That is why we're so strong and ally. That is why we signed on with Save the Children for a Million Meals program that now is at five million meals as our goal because we surpassed that right before we went public. Jen is one of the hardest working people that I have gotten a chance to work with. And what she has taught me from how not only to just set a tone within a company, but also be a great storyteller has been such a value add to me and my career. And I consider myself lucky to be learning amongst her and John Foraker and Cassandra Curtis, who's like just an entrepreneur, you know, at heart in the kitchen.

21:54And John is an industry icon. So I am very fortunate. And Jen is everything and more for what people think. I have to ask as well, you mentioned that, you know, you were a type A parent, you were ready to make your own food for your kids when they were both born. You also mentioned, I think before our interview started that you get up at 5.30am. What does your morning look like at that hour? What are you doing before you clock in for work? We're a remote company and we continue to do so as we grow, which might be a little crazy, but really works for us. I have a little tagline in my email that's like, look, I'm emailing you at a time that works for me.

22:40Do not feel pressure to respond until it's a time that works for you. I'm an early morning person. I do my best work there. So I will either get up and work out or I grab my coffee and I start having calls and answering emails or being able to think for a big project. Then my kids get up, get them ready. I'll either get them off to school or camp and I go back. And my teams know like there are certain times that I'm unavailable and there are other times, you know, that if they're like, hey, can you make this time work? I will do it. And each day is different. And I am so fortunate to be somewhere that has the flexibility.

23:17Our team is all over the U.S. So we're constantly, you know, playing the schedule navigation. But it has allowed us to not only have different points of view based on where everyone else lives, but a real support system and understanding of you do your best work when you do your best work. Love that. Yes. More flexibility for moms, please. All right. Well, I think that's all we had. Thank you so much, Katie, for joining us today. Thank you, Kate. This has been so much fun. I really look forward. Let's do this again.