By Connor Hart
Once Upon a Farm raised its outlook for the year after recording higher first-quarter sales on strong retail demand and the continued expansion of its refrigerated cooler network.
Chief Executive John Foraker, who co-founded the company with actress Jennifer Garner, on Thursday said the business registered growth in household penetration during the quarter, along with accelerating repeat purchase rates and consumption trends.
The maker of organic baby food has benefited from the expanded rollout of refrigerated coolers in baby aisles at grocery retailers including Whole Foods, Walmart and Target. Once Upon a Farm ended the quarter with roughly 3,500 coolers in stores. The company expects to have about 5,000 coolers in stores by the end of the year and, longer term, is targeting more than 15,000 coolers nationwide.
Foraker noted that retailer dollars sold from those coolers increased 11% from the prior quarter and 27% from a year earlier, reflecting higher throughput per location and stronger demand for fresh products.
Once Upon a Farm is also benefiting from a broader shift toward health and wellness in packaged foods, particularly among parents focused on simpler ingredients and higher nutritional quality for children, Foraker said.
He noted that demand has remained resilient despite broader economic uncertainty, as parents continue to prioritize spending on nutrition for their children.
The maker of organic children's food now expects net sales of $313 million to $323 million this year, up from a prior outlook of $302 million to $310 million. Analysts polled by FactSet were looking for $306.1 million.
The higher outlook came as Once Upon a Farm narrowed its first-quarter net loss to $15.8 million, or 59 cents a share, compared with a loss of from $19.5 million, or $2.95 cents per share, a year ago.
Sales rose 44% to $72.7 million, topping the forecast of $64.3 million of analysts surveyed by FactSet.
Write to Connor Hart at connor.hart@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 07, 2026 16:09 ET (20:09 GMT)
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