Once Upon a Farm, a plant-based kid nutrition company, announced it has acquired Raised Real, an organic, plant-rich baby food meal delivery company, and all assets related to the company’s operations. The purchase of Raised Real will expand Once Upon a Farm’s growing organic, refrigerated pouch portfolio to now include frozen meal options.
“We’ve watched and admired Raised Real’s approach and products for over 3 years, and think they are a perfect fit for our portfolio as we continue to build our next generation kid nutrition company.” says Once Upon a Farm Co-Founder & CEO John Foraker. “They give us an important entrée into the frozen space where there is significant opportunity for baby & kid innovation and to increase our scale and capabilities in direct-to-consumer, which is an important part of our growth strategy.”
As part of the acquisition, Once Upon a Farm will reintroduce the line of organic meals later this year. This flexible meal format is ideal for busy families looking to add variety and convenience to breakfast, lunch or dinner. The nutrient-rich meals can be pureed, mashed, served as finger foods or used as complimentary sides for little ones. The new line will include fan favorites such as: Anytime Meals - Beet, Sweet Potato, Date, Cinnamon and Coconut Butter; and Breakfast Oats - Oats, Acai, Banana, Raspberry and Cranberry Seed Oil and will be available to purchase on the Once Upon a Farm website and in Target.
"John Foraker and his team at Once Upon a Farm are perfect to accelerate our aspirations at retail and help us bring to life our ambitious vision,” says Santiago Merea, CEO and founder of Raised Real. “Our products, combined, create a leading plant-rich portfolio platform for kids of all ages across fresh and frozen, online and offline. This is a big day in our journey in which we can all celebrate."
In addition to expanding into the fresh frozen food space, the company also changed from a Limited Liability Company to a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC). As part of the transition, Once Upon a Farm has outlined specific social impact goals into its company charter and will formalize its track record of transparency as a company by reporting annually to its stakeholders and submitting to third party review by B Lab, the non-profit organization that awards the B corporation certification that meets the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose.
To learn more about Once Upon a Farm, visit www.onceuponafarmorganics.com.