Once Upon a Farm

When John Foraker, MBA 94 (left), left his position as CEO of Annie’s three years after its sale to General Mills, he was just getting started on his mission to revolutionize what Americans eat. In 2017, he joined Once Upon a Farm—a young company aiming to transform baby food. Partnering with actor Jennifer Garner (center) and co-founders Cassandra Curtis (right) and Ari Raz, Foraker moved from investor to co-founder and CEO, helping scale the all-organic brand into a national force on grocery shelves. Under Foraker’s leadership, the Berkeley, California-based company is demonstrating how the food industry can be healthy, nutritious, equitable—and profitable.

2015

Cassandra Curtis and Ari Raz launch Once Upon a Farm, selling baby food that uses cold-pressure processing to kill bad bacteria and lock in nutrients versus traditional shelf-stable baby food, which uses heat to kill bacteria, affecting the nutrient content. Foraker is an early investor.

2016

With a transparent testing process to prevent food contaminants, the company is the first baby brand to earn the Clean Label Project Purity Award.

2017

Foraker becomes CEO and co-founder; actor Jennifer Garner becomes co-founder and chief brand officer, combining mission-driven leadership and star power.

2018

The company expands to 8,500 stores nationally and becomes the first refrigerated baby food available through WIC, a federal nutrition assistance program.

2021

Once Upon a Farm becomes a public benefit corporation. It partners with Save the Children and commits to providing 1 million nutritious meals to kids in food-insecure communities nationwide.

2022

The company acquires freshly frozen baby meal company Raised Real and grows to $100 million in retail sales.

2023

Foraker appears with Garner and Curtis in a Capital One commercial cross-promoting Once Upon a Farm.

2024–2025

Having expanded into refrigerated oat bars, toddler food, and protein bars, the company files for an initial public offering in September 2025.