Once Upon a Farm's CMO, Katie Marston, reveals their disruptive strategy for the baby food market: leveraging branded coolers in grocery aisles to showcase fresh, cold-pressed products. This episode dives into the challenges of convincing major retailers to adopt this new merchandising approach, the data-driven insights that fueled their expansion, and how they're communicating the value of 'more produce, less processed' to parents. Operators will learn about navigating retail partnerships for innovative product placement and the importance of adapting strategies for different retailers.
Key takeaways
Once Upon a Farm used data-backed presentations to demonstrate to retailers like Target and Kroger that investing in fresh baby food coolers would drive incremental sales by attracting new customers to the aisle.
Initial cooler pilots failed due to poor merchandising and placement; subsequent success came from using smaller, less logistically demanding coolers, gradually expanding SKU counts, and adapting strategies to each retailer's unique needs.
The brand communicates 'freshness as part of customer communication' by splitting its marketing team to focus on age-specific needs and emphasizing 'more produce, less processed' to build trust with parents.
Connecting in-person shoppers to their DTC online presence via QR codes and subscription offers in-store is a key strategy for expanding reach beyond physical retail.
The company is expanding its product line with protein-focused launches and considering larger cooler/freezer options to capitalize on the success of its fresh offerings.
Once Upon a Farm is on a growth trajectory that is powered in large part by a new look in the baby aisle. The brand, founded in 2015, offers organic, cold-pressed baby food and children's snacks. It went public in February after spending the past several years building up a unique wholesale strategy that places branded coolers in baby food aisles. The company ended 2025 with more than 3,400 coolers in grocery stores across the U.S. and is looking to surpass more than 5,000 by the end of 2026. Overall, the company saw net sales hit $85.4 million in the second quarter of 2026, an increase of 42.3% from the prior year, according to its second-quarter earnings released Friday. But the cooler strategy is a major part of the growth story, per chief marketing officer Katie Marston. She joined special projects editor Melissa Daniels on the Modern Retail Podcast this week to discuss the strategy and how the brand convinced retailers like Target, Walmart and Kroger to place branded coolers in their baby aisles. The result is a way for Once Upon a Farm to shake up a category long dominated by shelf-stable products. “If we are going to create systemic change in children's nutrition, if we are going to shape the future of food, you have to place big bets, and you have to stick with them," Marston said.
What does this episode say about retail & omnichannel?
Once Upon a Farm used data-backed presentations to demonstrate to retailers like Target and Kroger that investing in fresh baby food coolers would drive incremental sales by attracting new customers to the aisle.
What does this episode say about brand & content?
Initial cooler pilots failed due to poor merchandising and placement; subsequent success came from using smaller, less logistically demanding coolers, gradually expanding SKU counts, and adapting strategies to each retailer's unique needs.
What does this episode say about supply chain & operations?
The brand communicates 'freshness as part of customer communication' by splitting its marketing team to focus on age-specific needs and emphasizing 'more produce, less processed' to build trust with parents.
What does this episode say about retail & omnichannel?
Connecting in-person shoppers to their DTC online presence via QR codes and subscription offers in-store is a key strategy for expanding reach beyond physical retail.
What does this episode say about retail & omnichannel?
The company is expanding its product line with protein-focused launches and considering larger cooler/freezer options to capitalize on the success of its fresh offerings.
