Once Upon A Farm (NYSE:OFRM) detailed its fourth quarter and full-year fiscal 2025 results on its first earnings call as a public company, highlighting rapid sales growth, expanding retail distribution, and plans to accelerate refrigerated “cooler” placements and new product innovation in 2026.
Mission-led positioning and brand momentum
CEO and co-founder John Foraker opened the call by recounting the company’s origins and emphasizing its mission “to drive systemic improvements in childhood nutrition,” noting the company is structured as a Public Benefit Corporation. Foraker said the brand’s mission and product standards—USDA-certified organic offerings with no added sugar, no preservatives, and nothing artificial—help drive consumer trust, loyalty, and word-of-mouth.
Foraker said the company’s products are available in more than 25,000 retail locations and positioned across both the fresh perimeter and center store, which he said helps retailers generate larger baskets and improved margins. He cited internal and category metrics around incrementality, including that kids’ snacking pouches are 69% incremental in the fresh perimeter, baby coolers are 61% incremental to the baby food category, and dry baby snacks are 80% incremental to baby and toddler snacking segments. He also said more than one-third of new consumers discovered the brand through word of mouth in 2025.
Household penetration and retail expansion strategy
Foraker outlined four strategic pillars: growing brand awareness, deepening retailer reach, innovation-led category disruption, and sustained profitable growth. He said household penetration reached 5.1% at the end of December, representing a 42% increase over the prior year, while acknowledging competitors average about 12.5% household penetration or higher. He added that the company’s buy rate among households with children rose nearly 7% to $47.20, despite adding roughly 2.2 million new households in 2025.
On retail distribution, Foraker said the company reached 69% ACV distribution across more than 25,000 locations and six product categories, with an average SKU count exceeding 20 per door in U.S. MULO channels. He described the company’s refrigerated baby aisle “cooler” program as a key entry point for new households, noting 62% growth in 2025 to more than 3,400 units installed.
Management provided additional detail on cooler economics and accounting. Foraker said each cooler generates about $12,000 in run-rate annual retail sales, with the company’s investment contribution ranging from $3,000 to $8,000 per unit depending on size and terms. CFO Larry Waldman said cooler-related spending is typically recognized as trade spend or sales expense (with minimal CapEx), and when reflected in trade spend it can depress net sales and profitability in the period a cooler is installed. Foraker said the company sees potential to scale to more than 15,000 coolers in North America over time, based on stores where the strategy is viable today.
Innovation pipeline, including protein-forward refrigerated pouches
Foraker said Once Upon A Farm has introduced more than 40 new products since 2023, and pointed to the 2024 launch of dry baby snacks, which he said reached top-three performance within the category within six months (per SPINS U.S. MULO data). He also announced a new wave of innovation expected to begin hitting shelves in April, including refrigerated, organic, cold-pressure protected, protein-forward pouches for babies featuring meat and bone broth and legume blends.
In response to questions, management said the protein line required building a new protein sourcing supply chain, but it will use existing manufacturing partnerships. Waldman noted the company built a specific production line for the protein products to avoid running them alongside fruit and vegetable pouches, while still leveraging existing co-manufacturing relationships.
Additional innovation discussed included smoothies with protein and probiotics (4 grams of protein) aimed at older kids and “Power Wheels,” a soft and chewy snack made with 4 grams of protein, whole grain oats, and fruit and vegetable ingredients, positioned as an extension of the company’s existing “Wheels” franchise.
Fourth quarter and full-year financial results
Waldman reported fourth quarter net sales increased 30.1% to $64.0 million, driven by “relatively balanced” volume and price/mix. He said consumption growth exceeded reported sales growth by more than 300 basis points. The company’s repeat rate improved 480 basis points year over year to 50.5%.
By segment in the fourth quarter, Waldman said kids sales rose 11.5% to $34.7 million (including 9.8% growth in pouches and 25.8% growth in snacks), while baby sales increased 62.2% to $29.3 million (including 35.8% growth in pouches and 91.3% growth in snacks). Fourth quarter gross margin was 47.7%, up 105 basis points, which he attributed to lower trade spend and higher average selling prices. SG&A as a percentage of net sales decreased 318 basis points to 40.7% due to lower marketing, logistics, and G&A expenses as a percentage of sales, partially offset by higher selling expenses.
Net income in the fourth quarter was $22.5 million versus a net loss of $12.3 million in the prior-year period. Waldman said the change in fair value of a derivative liability accounted for over $30 million of the year-over-year improvement, with the remaining increase driven by higher gross profit, partially offset by higher G&A expenses. Adjusted EBITDA in the quarter was $6.6 million versus $2.2 million a year earlier.
For full-year 2025, net sales increased 53.5% to $240.7 million, driven primarily by 42% volume growth from expanded distribution and new product introductions. Gross margin was 42.3%, down 125 basis points, which Waldman attributed to increased planned trade spend tied to slotting fees from store expansion and cooler placement, as well as unfavorable sales mix impacts to cost of goods. SG&A as a percentage of net sales improved 291 basis points to 44.7%. The company reported a net loss of $17.2 million in 2025 compared with a net loss of $23.8 million the prior year, while adjusted EBITDA improved to $2.1 million from a loss of $3.7 million.
IPO proceeds, balance sheet, and 2026 outlook
Waldman said that as of Dec. 31, 2025 (prior to the IPO), the company had $10.9 million in cash and $60.2 million in total debt, including $43.0 million on a revolving credit facility and $17.0 million of convertible notes. He said the company completed its IPO in February, generating approximately $139 million of net proceeds, and used a portion to repay outstanding revolving borrowings. Waldman added the company currently has approximately $102 million in cash and cash equivalents, $82 million in borrowing availability, and no debt.
For 2026, management guided to net sales of $302 million to $310 million, implying 25% to 29% growth, driven primarily by volume through innovation, expanded distribution, and further development across retail and club channels. Waldman said adjusted EBITDA is expected to be $2 million to $4 million, “just above breakeven,” reflecting continued investment in talent and infrastructure. Management said it expects to reach a mid-teens adjusted EBITDA margin over the medium term as the business scales.
In the Q&A, management said most 2026 growth is expected to be volume-driven, supported by distribution gains in core items, innovation, and marketing effectiveness, with Foraker also pointing to a “surge in awareness” following the IPO. Waldman discussed cooler plans, saying the company has built in a target of about 5,000 coolers in 2026, and noted cooler acceleration could affect both net sales and EBITDA if retailer demand exceeds current assumptions.
Management also described expected cadence through the year, with a typical second-quarter lift associated with promotions and resets, a back-to-school promotional period in the third quarter, and fourth quarter net sales usually “flat between Q3 and Q4.” Waldman said timing of cooler go-lives can shift within a two- to three-month window.
On competition, Foraker said promotional activity across categories has not changed significantly over the past year, and described efforts to use “Price Pack Architecture” to make products broadly accessible. He also addressed a new entrant at a “big mass account” beginning around September 2025, saying that despite aggressive competitor discounting and marketing, Once Upon a Farm’s average dollar velocity per week is about two times better and its repeat rate is 1.8 times better in that setting.
On margin considerations for 2026, Waldman said the company is projecting gross margin to be down about 120 basis points versus 2025, driven by higher cooler slotting and an assumption of about 100 basis points of tariff costs. He also said the company has manufacturing productivity projects underway, but did not build incremental productivity upside into the 2026 model due to uncertainty around timing and magnitude.
Closing the call, Foraker said the IPO is expected to serve as a “launching pad” for accelerating growth initiatives, while the company focuses on execution with retail partners and its stated mission to improve childhood nutrition.
About Once Upon A Farm (NYSE:OFRM)
Once Upon A Farm (NYSE: OFRM) is a U.S.-based producer of refrigerated organic foods for infants, toddlers and young children. The company’s product lineup emphasizes cold-pressed, organic purees, blends and smoothies formulated for early childhood nutrition. Its offerings are positioned around whole-food ingredients, limited processing and claims of no artificial preservatives or added sugars, with packaging designed for convenience and on-the-go feeding.
Once Upon A Farm distributes its products through a combination of retail and direct-to-consumer channels, serving customers primarily across the United States.
