Once Upon a Farm, PBC (OFRM.US), an organic children's snack manufacturer co-founded by actress Jennifer Garner, along with some of its shareholders, plans to raise up to $209 million through an initial public offering. Once Upon a Farm has entered the competitive children's food market leveraging star power and a premium organic positioning, achieving rapid revenue growth that is accompanied by widening losses. This IPO, which was delayed due to a US government shutdown, has now been restarted, presenting a market test for investor confidence in the business model of deep celebrity involvement in consumer brands and its profitability prospects. According to documents filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday, the Berkeley, California-based company and its selling shareholders plan to offer nearly 11 million shares at a price between $17 and $19 per share. The company itself will offer 7.63 million shares, while the selling shareholders will offer approximately 3.365 million shares. If priced at the top of the range, Once Upon a Farm would command a market valuation of $764.4 million, based on the number of shares outstanding detailed in the filing. A management presentation indicates that the IPO is expected to be priced after the US market close on February 5th. The company produces premium products, including child-friendly, no-sugar-added organic refrigerated fruit and vegetable puree pouches, as well as snack bars, frozen meals, and smoothie packs. The company's origins date back to 2015, when co-founders Cassandra Curtis and Ari Raz began focusing on developing recipes using organic, real ingredients. Garner and former Annie's CEO John Foraker joined the venture in 2017. The company initially filed for an IPO in September last year, but the process was subsequently stalled by the longest US government shutdown in history. In a LinkedIn post last November, Foraker announced the decision to postpone the children's food maker's listing plans until 2026, citing the government shutdown as an impediment. Filings show that for the nine months ended September 30th, Once Upon a Farm reported revenue of $176.7 million and a net loss of $39.8 million. This compares to revenue of $107.6 million and a net loss of $11.6 million for the same period in 2024. The gross margin for the first nine months of 2025 was 40%, down from 42% a year earlier. The filings indicate that pouch products contributed the majority of the net sales. The company's products are already stocked in the refrigerated sections of over 2,800 physical stores, including Walmart (WMT.US), Target (TGT.US), Amazon's (AMZN.US) Whole Foods, and Kroger (KR.US). Proceeds from the IPO are earmarked for repaying debt, purchasing new equipment, and making cash payments related to an endorsement agreement, among other uses. The filings reveal that, in addition to serving on the board, Garner receives compensation for her roles as a co-founder and "Farmer Jen." Under an agreement reached in 2022, the actress has already received $1 million in cash and stock options. She is also scheduled to receive $2 million on January 31, 2026, another $2 million on January 31, 2027, and $3 million on January 31, 2028. Furthermore, she is eligible for cash bonuses tied to the performance of the IPO stock price. In 2022, Once Upon a Farm raised $52 million in a funding round led by CAVU Venture Partners, with participation from existing investors Cambridge, Beechwood, and S2G Ventures (then named S2G Investments). The company's website states that its retail sales reached $100 million that year. The performance of consumer-facing companies going public has been relatively subdued in recent years. Data shows that companies in this sector raised $17.4 billion from US exchange listings in 2021, but the total raised since then amounts to only about $15.6 billion. Since their IPOs, Cava Group (CAVA.US) and Amer Sports (AS.US) have seen their share prices surge significantly, while Webtoon Entertainment (WBTN.US) has underperformed. Post-offering, CAVU Venture Partners is expected to be the largest shareholder with a 27.5% stake, while S2G Investments and Cambridge Companies SPG will hold 14% and 9.3% stakes, respectively, according to the filings. The IPO is being led by Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Bank of America, and William Blair. The company expects to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "OFRM."
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