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(Bloomberg) — It’s one thing for life partners to start a business together. It’s another to turn it into a $1 billion company. That’s what Isaac Langleben and Jacqueline Prehogan might accomplish by going public with Open Farm Inc.
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The couple’s business got its start when they adopted two pugs and went searching for high-quality, natural dog food. That sparked the idea for Open Farm, which they founded in 2014 in Toronto and scaled through nutrition consultants, third-party manufacturers and distributors to build a menu of higher-end food products for dogs and cats.
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The family office of Howard Schultz, the longtime chief executive officer of Starbucks Corp., invested in 2017 along with Encore Consumer Capital, then General Atlantic LP led a $65 million funding round in 2020.
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Now the company is working toward a potential initial public offering in Canada. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Royal Bank of Canada have been tapped to lead it, according to people familiar with the matter.
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Open Farm considered listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange earlier this year, but opted to wait for a more favorable environment for consumer stocks. The company had annual sales of more than C$400 million ($285 million) as of the end of June, and plans to raise as much as C$400 million in an offering, the people said, speaking on condition they not be identified discussing private matters. The expected valuation may be between C$1 billion and C$2 billion.
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“We’re still growing 25% year over year,” said Open Farm CEO Langleben, a former lawyer and business consultant. “If you deliver a great consistent product that pets do well on, it’s very, very sticky. People never change the food.”
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Open Farm sells its products in over 9,500 stores in North America after inking a partnership with PetSmart, and its website is about to get a new artificial intelligence tool to help shoppers. Approximately 85% of its sales come from the US.
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Since all of the production and distribution is outsourced, the firm has only 130 employees, and it reached profitability early on.
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Langleben declined to provide any financial details on a potential IPO and said staying private is still an option. But the firm is looking to expand in international markets and to provide a monetization path for early investors and employees.
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“There’s just really tremendous runway for the brand and future growth,” he said.
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Stephens Inc. consumer stocks analyst Jim Salera said there are “opportunities for unique brand positioning” in the overall food market. Younger generations are seeking healthier food for themselves, but also their pets — even if it’s pricier.
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“We continue to see big adoption and conversion from traditional dry dog food to the upscale either wet or dry,” he said, citing a broader trend toward the humanization of pets. “We’ve seen a lot of engagement from consumers” with brands like Freshpet and The Farmer’s Dog.
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