In an interview with USA TODAY, the actress and her co-founder, Cassandra Curtis, talk about their big day on the New York Stock Exchange.
Jennifer Garner and fellow Once Upon a Farm co-founder Cassandra Curtis are celebrating a major milestone for the children’s nutrition company, which went public on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, Feb. 6.
The duo, along with the company’s leadership team and families, rang the NYSE opening bell Friday as Once Upon a Farm made a powerful public market debut, trading under the ticker symbol OFRM.
“There’s just big fat smiles all around here,” Garner tells USA TODAY, adding that the company loves the new ticker symbol. “O-F-R-M baby, all the way!”
Once Upon a Farm is a remarkable business tale that began in 2013 in the San Diego kitchen of mother-of-three Curtis, who couldn’t find refrigerated or fresh baby or kids’ food at the supermarket.
“You could find refrigerated cat and dog food, but I couldn’t find that for my baby,” says Curtis. “I saw a big gap in the market.”
Curtis started Once Upon a Farm in 2015 with co-founder Ari Raz, debuting the first cold-pressure-protected baby food pouches designed to preserve more nutrients with fresher flavor.
Garner, who made her own baby food for her three children with now ex-husband Ben Affleck (Violet Anne, Seraphina Rose, and Samuel), was “blown away” with the emerging company.
“I wasn’t happy with what was available in the grocery store, where often the baby food could be older than the baby I was feeding,” says Garner. “That didn’t make sense to me. And I did not like making baby food. It was messy and inconvenient. More than that, I found it confusing. Was I doing the right thing for my baby?”
Garner met with longtime food industry executive and former CEO of Annie’s Homegrown, John Foraker, in 2017 about joining Once Upon a Farm.
“Our conversation instantly turned to mission: This would be the best food available out there,” says Garner. “But how could we democratize this level of nutrition and make it accessible for as many kids out there? We both said, ‘I’m in, if you’re in.’ Ari and Cassandra let us join and we started this journey together.”
Once Upon a Farm has expanded from a small company to one boasting a full line of fresh children’s food (without added sugar) that includes refrigerated oat and protein bars, Fruit & Veggie Puffs and Tractor Wheel Bars.
“We started as a baby food company, and we’ve really aged up the brand over time, which was always the vision,” says Curtis.
The stock opened at $21 per share on Friday, up 16% from its initial public offering price. Garner says the company aims to be “allies” for parents with three core pillars: superior nutrition, clean ingredients and great taste.
“Because if it comes right back home in the lunch box that is not helping parents out,” says Garner. “Parents have to know that this nutrition is getting in those bodies and fueling kids.”
Garner praises Curtis’ testing taste buds as “the palette of the gods,” but also tries prospective food items with her children.
“My kids have plenty to say,” says Garner. “I remember when we first joined one of my kids saying, ‘This is very banana forward.'”
Garner will juggle acting career and Once Upon a Farm
Garner, who has highlighted Once Upon a Farm in a popular business credit card commercial, will continue to devote her energy to the company along with her Hollywood career. “The Last Thing He Told Me” Season 2, which Garner stars in and executive produced, premieres Feb. 20 on Apple TV.
The co-founder will remain focused on the company’s food mission, “which is what brought me here.” One of the company’s suppliers is Garner’s family farm in northeast Oklahoma that has been in her family for nearly a century.
“This is the time to cement our legacy,” says Garner. “I’ll continue to keep changing hats, sometimes minute by minute on the set. I go to meetings over Zoom while in hair and makeup. As soon as I have a day off, I’m with these guys somewhere in the country, or I’m at home after work, writing emails.
“If anything, I’ll only double down,” Garner adds. “And as our Chief Financial Officer jokingly reminded me, I am also under contract. So I’m far from going anywhere.”
