Open Wide! Baby Food Maker Closes Series B Round

Serenity Kids, a provider of shelf-stable baby and toddler food products, has completed a $52 million Series B investment round. The new round was led by consumer brands and services investor Stride Consumer Partners.

Serenity Kids specializes in creating nutrient-dense, shelf-stable food products for young children and only uses ingredients that are free from antibiotics, added hormones, pesticides, fillers, GMOs, and major allergens.

Serenity Kids’ sells a range of products, including pouches, puffs, and toddler formula, which are available online at the company’s website, Amazon, and Thrive Market; and in over 18,000 grocery stores nationwide including Harris Teeter, select H-E-B locations, Kroger, Natural Grocers, Meijer, select Albertsons/Safeway locations, Sprouts, Target, Wegmans, Whole Foods Market, and Walmart.

According to Serenity Kids, since launching in 2018, the company has become the fastest selling shelf-stable baby food pouch brand in all grocery channels.

The company’s product lines include World Explorers, Dairy-Free Smoothies, Ethically Sourced Meats, Organic Savory Veggies, Purees with Bone Broth, as well as zero-sugar Grain Free Puffs, and a first-of-its-kind A2 Whole Milk Toddler Formula.

All of Serenity Kids’ products are third party tested for over 200 heavy metals and contaminants and are made with ethically sourced, regeneratively farmed meats and Certified USDA Organic vegetables, herbs, and spices.

Serenity Kids is headquartered in Austin, Texas, and was founded in 2018 by the wife and husband team of Serenity and Joe Carr. Post closing, the Carr’s will continue to lead the business and will also maintain an equity interest.

“We launched Serenity Kids to create superior products that give little ones the best start possible,” said CEO Serenity Carr. “Stride’s team has already been super collaborative, and we’re confident they’re the right partner to help propel our business into the next phase. We look forward to working with them to achieve our goal of helping babies grow up healthy, happy, and strong.”

This funding round is supported by Serenity Kids 71% year-over-year (2022 to 2023) retail revenue growth reported in 2023. According to the company, the new capital will be used for marketing, talent acquisition, and further product development.

“The current investment landscape is pretty dire, so our ability to attract this financing and partnership validates our differentiation, mission, and growth potential,” said President Joe Carr.

Boston-headquartered Stride Consumer Partners makes majority and minority investments of $10 million to $150 million in companies that have revenues between $10 million and $150 million. Consumer sectors of specific interest include food and beverage, beauty and

“In my 20 years of experience in growth equity investments, I have rarely seen a brand with such a consistent track record of winning at the shelf as Serenity Kids,” said Juan Marcos Hill, a partner at Stride. “We were impressed with the brand’s unique positioning and the team’s vision and passion to provide the highest quality, most nutrient-dense products for babies and toddlers. We look forward to supporting the Serenity Kids team on their continued expansion as they seek to transform the standard in baby and toddler food.”

Serenity Kids was recognized on Inc. 5000’s fastest growing companies list of 2023, and CEO Serenity Carr was named one of Inc.’s 200 Best Female Founders in 2023.

Haynes & Boone provided legal services to Serenity Kids and Latham & Watkins provided legal services to Stride.