(OFRM) starts trading on the New York Stock Exchange

Once Upon a Farm It made its public debut on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, trading under the ticker symbol “OFRM.”

The stock opened at $21 per share, up 16% from its initial public offering price. Shares rose 20% in afternoon trading.

Organic children’s nutrition company priced Its IPO closed Thursday at $18 per share, in the middle of an expected range of $17 to $19. Once Upon a Time on the Farm and supporters He sold approximately 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-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 sits on the company’s board of directors and officially bears the title of “Farmer Jen”; Foraker, whom he calls “The Big Poobah of Organic”, is the CEO.

“We want to get baby-feeding to older kids, too, because we’re helping make parents’ lives easier,” Garner told CNBC.

Once Upon a Farm’s launch comes as shoppers and policymakers push back against ultra-processed foods, especially those consumed by children. For example, the “Make America Healthy Again” movement spearheaded by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. found evangelists among so-called “MAHA moms” who agreed with his ideas on everything from junk food to childhood vaccines.

While the behavioral shift has hurt Big Food, it has also fueled the growth of insurgent brands like Once Upon a Farm. In 2024, the company recorded net sales of $156.8 million, up 66% from the previous year, but its losses increased from $17.6 million to $23.8 million, according to a filing with regulators.

“With these headwinds and consumer trends being in the right spot, we’re really trying to capitalize on that and offer more to consumers,” Foraker said.

He said retailers have taken notice of this shift and are devoting premium shelf space to organic foods, a far cry from Foraker’s early days at Annie’s, when his products were pushed into the undesirable “organic” corner in grocery stores.

Officially designated as a public benefit corporation, Once Upon a Farm aims to “promote systemic change in childhood nutrition,” according to its mission statement. Foraker said his commitment to that goal is why he chose to go public rather than seek a sale; this is a much more common passion for consumer goods businesses just starting out.

While Foraker said he had a good experience General Mills After purchasing Annie’s in 2014, he stated that many companies in the food and beverage industry did not keep the promises they made to the brands they purchased and fulfilled their missions. (Look no further than the years-long feud between Ben & Jerry’s and its former owner Unilever and current parent Magnum Ice Cream Company, which was spun off from Dove’s owner last year.)

Once Upon a Time There Was a Farm plans to go public Last year, before the longest-ever government shutdown disrupted those plans. Once Upon a Farm plans to spend IPO proceeds to pay down debt, purchase new equipment and fund general corporate purposes, according to a regulatory filing.

Overall, more IPOs are expected this year, thanks to interest rate cuts and a massive backlog of companies spooked by market volatility and recession fears. This week alone has seen seven companies raise at least $150 million through IPOs, including Bob’s Discount Furniture. Renaissance Capital data.