Brands for a Better World: John Foraker of Once Upon a Farm

Posted inBrands for a Better World

To make a true impact, your mission needs to be baked into the DNA of your brand from the get-go. 

Joining us today to share the keys to the success of an impact-driven brand is John Foraker, Co-Founder and CEO of nutrition-focused kids’ food brand, Once Upon a Farm. In this episode, we discover the most valuable lessons John learned from scaling Annie’s Homegrown, how he came to partner with actress and Once Upon a Farm co-founder, Jennifer Garner, and how he weaves impact into the brands he builds.

Tune in for this revealing episode on scaling without compromising culture, and committing to making an impact.

Key Points From This Episode:

  • Introducing John Foraker, Co-Founder and CEO of Once Upon a Farm.
  • John’s advice for scaling an impact-driven brand.
  • The importance of baking impact into the DNA of your brand.
  • The three most valuable lessons John learned from scaling Annie’s Homegrown.
  • How and why both John and actress Jennifer Garner got involved with Once Upon a Farm.
  • The fundamental belief that drives John to use business as a force for positive social change.
  • The benefits of the public benefit corporation model.
  • Hiring advice and criticism of the historical corporate mindset.
  • The importance of authenticity as a leader (and the danger of imitation).
  • Reframing the term “organic”.
  • How John married his passion for food and farming with business.
  • The value of graduate studies and continuous learning in business.
  • Once Upon a Farm’s purity promise and their partnership with Save the Children.
  • The evolving nature of B Corp.

Read the transcript and find links from the episode at Brands for a Better World.


The Brands for a Better World podcast (formerly Evolve CPG) is hosted by Gage Mitchell, founder (CEO) and Creative Director at Modern Species, a sustainable brand design agency helping better-for-the-world brand launch, evolve, and grow to scale their impact.