Founder: Joe and Serenity Carr
Business: Serenity Kids
Revenue/Month: $750K
Founders: 2
Employees: 25
Website: myserenitykids.com
Location: Austin, Texas, United States
Founded: 2016
In the fiercely competitive baby food market, Texas-based Serenity Kids has distinguished itself with nutrient-rich, ethically sourced products that reflect a fundamentally different approach to infant nutrition. The company recently secured a $3 million investment round led by Birch Benders cofounders Lizzi Ackerman and Matt LaCasse, coming after an impressive revenue surge to $9 million in 2020—triple their previous year’s performance.
The investment attracted notable wellness industry figures, including KetoConnect founders Megha Barot and Matt Gaedke, influencer Rachel Mansfield, and several investors returning from the company’s initial $1.5 million seed round in 2019.
For Joe and Serenity Carr, their business journey intertwines profoundly with their personal life. They launched their company on the exact day their daughter Della was born, creating an unbreakable link between family and enterprise.
“Our business birthday is our daughter’s birthday,” says Serenity. “Having Della arrive as we launched the company created this incredible sense of purpose. We weren’t just creating a business—we were building something for our child and for children everywhere.”
The fresh capital infusion powers aggressive expansion plans. The Carrs aim to extend their retail presence nationwide, make strategic hires to strengthen their team, and diversify their product portfolio beyond their current lineup of toddler purees with bone broth, ethically sourced meat options, and savory vegetable varieties in convenient pouches.
“We’ve developed two new form factors for children older than 16 months,” Joe explains. “These will hit shelves in Q1 2021, with two additional products planned for release the following year. Our vision extends far beyond baby food pouches.”
The road to this investment proved unexpectedly difficult. The Carrs describe their recent fundraising experience as their “longest investment cycle ever,” extending beyond a year—largely due to reduced investor confidence in consumer packaged goods during the early COVID-19 pandemic.
“Our first round closed in just three months,” Joe recalls, shaking his head at the contrast. “This time, we had to slash operational costs and secure government loans while piecing together investments bit by bit. We were collecting $100,000 here, $50,000 there, just trying to keep moving forward.”
The funding breakthrough came when Ackerman and LaCasse, who had become loyal customers feeding their own children Serenity Kids products, sold their baking mix company to Sovos Brands in October. This transaction freed substantial capital that completed the Carrs’ funding round.
“When investors become customers first, it validates everything we’re doing,” Serenity notes. “Lizzi and Matt experienced the quality difference with their own children before becoming investors. That’s the most genuine endorsement possible.”
Finding Gaps in Conventional Baby Nutrition
The American baby food aisle presents a paradox of abundance without substance—shelves filled with colorful options that fail to deliver optimal nutrition for developing infants. This disconnect between available products and pediatric nutritional science created the perfect opening for Serenity Kids to revolutionize the category, challenging long-held industry assumptions about what babies should eat.
The success of Serenity Kids defied market expectations, especially considering the Carrs initially envisioned creating just a niche product in a category showing declining sales. Market analysis had revealed baby food pouch sales dropped by 0.8% in the previous year, linked to falling birth rates across the United States. Only a select few brands, including Once Upon a Farm and Cerebelly, were demonstrating positive growth within this challenging market environment.
“We honestly thought we were creating something for a small segment of health-conscious parents,” Joe admits. “The conventional wisdom said the baby food category wasn’t where you’d find growth opportunities. Everyone kept telling us the market was shrinking.”
The Carrs’ perspective transformed radically after conducting methodical research into existing baby food options. Their investigation uncovered that most products—even those marketed as organic—contained approximately nine grams of sugar per serving while providing minimal fat or meat content, nutrients crucial for proper spine and brain development in infants.
“What we discovered was shocking,” Serenity explains. “We hired a virtual assistant to catalog 265 products in a comprehensive spreadsheet. Almost everything contained fruit sweetening, despite clear USDA guidelines recommending babies need 30 grams of fat and 12 grams of protein from meat sources daily, while cautioning against sugar consumption.”
Beyond using organic ingredients, the company implements specific production techniques to ensure quality and safety. Their manufacturing process involves cooking products in large pressure cookers before transferring them to pouches, which undergo steaming in a retort machine—effectively eliminating potential pathogens and bacteria while ensuring the products remain shelf-stable.
“Food safety is absolutely non-negotiable when you’re talking about products for infants,” Joe emphasizes. “Our production method guarantees safety while preserving nutrition in ways conventional baby foods don’t prioritize.”
To strengthen their business foundation, the Carrs assembled an advisory team featuring accomplished consumer packaged goods experts. A pivotal advisor, Taylor Collins, founder of protein snacks company EPIC Provisions—which General Mills acquired for a reported $100 million in 2016—has provided essential guidance on branding and supply chain management for their meat pouches.
“Taylor saw our potential immediately,” Joe recalls. “He characterized our product line as ‘huge’ with growth possibilities far beyond what we initially projected. His experience building EPIC into an acquisition target gave us a roadmap for scaling while maintaining our core values.”
This assessment proved remarkably accurate, with Serenity Kids achieving the predicted tripling in revenue and positioning itself to reach approximately $21 million in sales the following year.
Scaling Strategically Through Rapid Growth
The transition from startup to established national brand requires not just financial resources but also organizational frameworks that can sustain accelerated expansion. For Serenity Kids, this critical evolution phase demanded thoughtful approaches to team development, operational systems, and distribution channels—foundational elements that would determine whether their early market success could transform into lasting industry influence.
The meteoric rise of Serenity Kids has created significant operational hurdles, particularly in personnel management and establishing a corporate culture capable of supporting sustainable growth. These challenges represent typical growing pains for rapidly expanding companies yet require careful attention to prevent derailing progress.
“When you grow this quickly, everything feels like it’s happening at warp speed,” Serenity explains. “We’re not just adding staff—we’re building systems that can scale with us for years to come. Each hire isn’t just filling a seat; they’re shaping what this company will become.”
The Carrs have responded aggressively to these staffing demands, bringing on seven new team members in just a few weeks, expanding their workforce to 25 employees. Their hiring pipeline remains active, with several additional positions planned, including key senior-level roles essential for their next growth phase.
These talent acquisition efforts represent substantial financial investments extending beyond basic salary costs. Serenity highlighted the comprehensive resources required, including formalizing recruitment procedures, engaging professional headhunting services, and creating attractive relocation packages to draw qualified candidates to Austin.
“People don’t always consider the full cost of scaling a team,” she points out. “You’re not just paying salaries—you’re investing in recruitment infrastructure, relocation assistance, and training programs. These costs are significant, but they’re absolutely essential investments for our 2021 expansion plans.”
To enhance operational efficiency amid this growth, the company has implemented centralized management systems, consolidating all activities within the Trello platform to improve coordination and accountability across departments.
Market disruptions from the pandemic prompted significant adaptations in their business model. While traditional retail channels experienced sharp declines beginning in April, their e-commerce operations experienced extraordinary growth. This shift has influenced future investment priorities, with increased resources allocated toward enhancing online content and upgrading their digital shopping experience.
“The pandemic forced us to pivot quickly,” Joe recalls. “We had always planned to build our e-commerce presence, but suddenly it became our lifeline. Retail sales plummeted in April, but our online business exploded. What might have been a three-year digital transformation happened in three months.”
Joe expressed appreciation for early strategic decisions that positioned them favorably for e-commerce success. Their product’s lightweight nature creates logistical advantages for shipping and fulfillment—demonstrating how initial choices that seemed costly and time-consuming ultimately proved valuable as consumer purchasing patterns evolved.
“Sometimes what looks like an extra expense early on becomes your competitive advantage later,” he reflects. “Our pouches are lightweight and ship economically, which suddenly mattered enormously when everyone started ordering online. Those early packaging decisions that seemed so challenging at the time? They’ve become crucial to our success in direct-to-consumer sales.”
Looking toward the future, the Carrs articulated bold ambitions for their company. With their upcoming national launch in Whole Foods, they envision transforming Serenity Kids into a billion-dollar children’s food brand that reshapes nutritional standards across the industry.
“We’re not just building a company—we’re starting a movement to transform how America feeds its children,” Serenity states with conviction. “Our Whole Foods national launch isn’t the finish line; it’s just the starting point for what comes next. We genuinely believe we can build a billion-dollar brand that fundamentally changes nutritional expectations for children’s food across the entire market.”
Success Factors: Why Did Serenity Kids Succeed?
- Identifying a genuine market gap – The Carrs discovered that most baby foods contained high sugar content while lacking essential nutrients like fats and proteins. Their systematic research cataloging 265 products revealed this significant nutritional disconnect between available options and USDA recommendations.
- Personal connection to the mission – Launching the company on the same day their daughter Della was born created an unbreakable link between their business and personal motivations, driving authentic purpose behind their work.
- Evidence-based approach – Rather than relying on assumptions, they conducted thorough market research, creating comprehensive spreadsheets analyzing competitors’ nutritional profiles and identifying specific areas where existing products fell short.
- Strategic advisory relationships – Bringing on accomplished industry experts like Taylor Collins (founder of EPIC Provisions) provided invaluable guidance on branding, supply chain management, and scaling strategies.
- Production quality and safety – Their specialized manufacturing process using pressure cookers and retort machines ensured both safety and nutritional integrity, creating products parents could trust.
- Adaptability during market disruption – When the pandemic hit, they quickly pivoted resources toward e-commerce as retail sales declined, demonstrating flexibility in their business model.
- Early decisions that created later advantages – Their lightweight packaging initially seemed costly but became a significant advantage for e-commerce shipping during the pandemic.
- Aggressive approach to staffing and infrastructure – Adding seven team members in a few weeks and expanding to 25 employees showed their commitment to building proper organizational structure to support growth.
- Operational systems for scale – Implementing centralized management through platforms like Trello improved coordination across departments as the company expanded.
- Attracting investors who were customers first – Some of their key investors (like the Birch Benders cofounders) used Serenity Kids products with their own children before investing, providing validation of their value proposition.
Key Lessons to Learn
- Question industry assumptions – The Carrs challenged the conventional wisdom that baby food must be fruit-sweetened and low in nutrients. By questioning established norms, they discovered a significant unmet need.
- Research beats intuition – Their systematic analysis of 265 competitor products provided concrete data rather than relying on hunches. This methodical approach revealed the specific nutritional gaps they could address.
- Personal passion drives resilience – Launching the company on their daughter’s birthday created a powerful personal connection that likely sustained them through difficult periods like their year-long fundraising cycle during the pandemic.
- Adapt quickly to market shifts – When retail sales plummeted during COVID-19, they pivoted resources toward e-commerce, demonstrating the flexibility crucial for survival during disruption.
- Early “problems” can become later advantages – Their lightweight packaging initially seemed costly but became a significant competitive advantage for shipping economics when e-commerce suddenly dominated.
- Build systems, not just products – As they scaled, they focused on creating organizational infrastructure—hiring processes, management systems, and operational frameworks—that could support sustained growth.
- Seek advisors with relevant experience – Bringing in Taylor Collins from EPIC Provisions provided specific expertise in scaling a specialty food company, offering a blueprint they could follow.
- Persistence through funding challenges – Their “longest investment cycle ever” during the pandemic required assembling capital incrementally (“$100,000 here, $50,000 there”) while cutting costs and securing government loans.
- Customers-turned-investors validate your model – Some of their most significant investors were first customers who experienced the product’s value personally before investing.
- Science-based differentiation creates defensibility – By aligning their products with actual nutritional science rather than market trends, they created offerings with substantive differences from competitors.
- Growth often requires substantial infrastructure investment – Their significant spending on recruitment, relocation packages, and team expansion demonstrates that scaling requires investment beyond just product and marketing.
Opportunity Matrix
Founder Background
- Joe and Serenity Carr launched the company on the same day their daughter Della was born
- Deep personal connection to the mission – creating better nutrition for their own child drove the business vision
- No specific prior CPG experience mentioned, but assembled strong advisory team to supplement their knowledge
Problem Identification
- Most baby food products (even organic ones) contained ~9g of sugar per serving
- Existing products lacked essential nutrients like fats and proteins needed for infant development
- Market dominated by fruit-sweetened options with minimal nutritional density
- Systematic analysis revealed disconnect between USDA recommendations (30g fat, 12g protein) and available products
Market Opportunity
- Created nutrient-dense, ethically sourced baby food products
- Entered a category with declining sales (-0.8% in pouches) but identified untapped nutritional niche
- Targeted health-conscious parents seeking better nutrition for infants
- Transformed what was initially envisioned as a niche product into a multi-million dollar enterprise
Competitive Landscape
- Traditional baby food market dominated by fruit-sweetened options
- Only a few brands showing growth (Once Upon a Farm, Cerebelly)
- Baby food pouch sales declining by 0.8% due to falling birth rates
- Most competitors not addressing nutritional guidelines for fat and protein content
Market Research
- Hired virtual assistant to catalog 265 products in comprehensive spreadsheet
- Documented nutritional profiles of competitors
- Identified disconnect between USDA recommendations and existing products
- Discovered virtually no products without fruit sweetening despite guidelines
Business Model
- Premium-positioned baby food with focus on nutritional density
- Three product categories: toddler purees with bone broth, ethically sourced meat options, and savory vegetable varieties
- Convenient pouch packaging with lightweight, shipping-friendly design
- Multi-channel distribution through retail and direct-to-consumer
Initial Capital
- $1.5 million seed round in 2019 (closed in just three months)
- $3 million investment round in 2020 (took over a year to close)
- Key investors included Birch Benders cofounders, KetoConnect founders, and wellness influencers
- During pandemic, relied on incremental funding ($100K here, $50K there) while securing government loans
Product/Service Development
- Focused on nutrient-dense formulations missing from market
- Specialized manufacturing process using pressure cookers and retort machines
- In development: two new “form factors” for children older than 16 months
- Pipeline includes two additional products slated for following year
Marketing Strategy
- Emphasis on nutritional science and ethical sourcing
- Pivoted toward strengthening e-commerce presence during pandemic
- Increasing resources for online content and digital shopping experience
- Upcoming national launch in Whole Foods as significant distribution milestone
Milestones
- Tripled revenue to $9 million in 2020
- Expanded team to 25 employees with plans for further growth
- Upcoming national Whole Foods launch
- Projecting approximately $21 million in sales for following year
Scalability
- Lightweight product creates logistical advantages for shipping/fulfillment
- Implemented centralized management systems (Trello) to improve coordination
- Aggressive hiring with seven new team members in weeks
- Developing formal recruitment procedures and relocation packages
Potential Risks/Challenges
- Extended fundraising timeline during pandemic (longest investment cycle ever)
- Establishing corporate culture capable of supporting rapid growth
- Managing expansion while maintaining product quality
- Balancing retail and e-commerce channels in changing market conditions
Key Performance Indicators
- Revenue growth (tripled to $9M in 2020)
- Team expansion (25 employees and growing)
- Retail distribution footprint
- E-commerce performance
- New product development timeline (4 new products in pipeline)