Jared Jacobs

Sometimes as a VC, you stumble upon facts or figures that don't make sense. That happened earlier this year when we learned of an alarming reality:

Fresh pet food was available in over 18,000 stores throughout U.S., yet fresh baby food was only available in 300 stores.

How could it be that pets had easier access to fresh food than our newborns?

There’s a growing body of scientific evidence that demonstrates what we feed children in their first 1,000 days has a profound impact on their ability to grow, learn and thrive. Today’s parents intuitively know the importance of feeding their little ones fresh and clean-ingredient food products, but find themselves busier than ever before to make it themselves. We asked ourselves – why isn’t there a better alternative for parents to the highly processed baby food and snacking options we find in stores today?

Once Upon A Farm is the answer. The Company is disrupting the baby and kid food categories with fresh foods that are as close to homemade as possible. We’re announcing our Series B investment in the brand today and I wanted to share a few personal thoughts on why we’re going gaga for baby food.

The Team, The Team, The Team In any early stage investment, you always find yourself betting on the “jockey” instead of the “horse.” Luckily for us, Once Upon a Farm has four outstanding jockeys in co-founders Cassandra Curtis, Ari Raz, John Foraker and Jennifer Garner.

Cassandra is the brand’s innovation guru, crafting the purest and most-nutritious food products that will delight children of all ages. Ari ’s passion and enthusiasm knows no bounds and he’ll do anything to ensure the brand’s success – whether that’s helping with sales or crafting the Company’s eCommerce strategy. John is a thought-leader in our space and his experience guiding Annie’s Organic (maker of everyone’s favorite mac and cheese) from startup to public company makes him an invaluable leader. And finally, Jennifer’s public experience as a mom of three shines a bright light on the brand’s mission and a category that needs change.

We’ll make no secret of the fact we’re big fans of the Once Upon a Farm team and are thrilled to partner with such inspiring founders.

Disrupting a Category That Has Lacked Innovation Breaking through in today's crowded and insanely competitive CPG environment is challenging enough. Creating a new subcategory at retail can be downright daunting. But since the 1930's, baby food hasn't changed much. It’s a category clinging to the past: highly pasteurized products, full of additives and concentrates. Turns out to make carrots and beets sit on a shelf for two years, one needs to heat those ingredients to over 180 degrees multiple times, destroying their core nutrients in the process. Fundamentally, the end-product ends up being older than its target consumer! Once Upon a Farm leverages HPP technology – which uses pressure instead of heat to kill pathogens – to deliver organic, non-GMO, homemade baby food, applesauce and smoothies. The brand’s products have no preservatives, concentrates or pre-processed purees.

We’re fired up by the Company’s mission of upgrading the baby / kid food categories with fresh and clean products and we’re confident parents will be too.

A Force for Good I am a strong believer that the best companies of tomorrow will also be a force for good. Once Upon a Farm is a certified “ B-Corp ” – a hard-earned distinction that they received earlier this year. Certified B Corps meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability.

One of the brand’s core values is to “fight for and support efforts to drive positive social change and food justice for the benefit of parents, kids and families.” The Company recently adopted a Paid Family Leave plan for their entire team and has openly called for others to do the same. Perhaps most impressive though, is the Company’s plan to be first to market with fresh, WIC baby food products next year. For those who don’t know, WIC is a federal assistance program administered by the USDA to help low-income moms and children under the age of five. We're immensely proud to partner with a brand that champions parents and elevates industry standards.

The best part of my job is backing ambitious and passionate entrepreneurs who want to change the world for the better by building a category-defining company. We are so lucky to play a very small role in OFarm's important and exciting journey. Game on !

Jared Jacobs

Los Angeles Metropolitan Area 3K followers 500+ connections

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About

Experience

CAVU Consumer Partners

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Education

University of Michigan - Stephen M. Ross School of Business

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Jared Jacobs

Los Angeles Metropolitan Area

3K followers 500+ connections

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