SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bobbie, the mom-founded and led Organic infant formula company, is mobilizing its CEO and co-founder, Laura Modi, alongside MotherBoard member, Elaine Welteroth, to take meaningful action in DC, pushing for policy change across the infant formula industry, on behalf of American parents. On September 28, the Biden Administration will host the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health, bringing together policy leaders, advocates, and community leaders to discuss ways to end hunger and improve nutrition by 2030. As a part of the conference, Bobbie has announced a bold commitment to invest $100 million to increase infant formula access, quality, and options for all U.S. families by 2030.
While breast milk is the optimal source of nutrition during the first 1,000 days of a child’s life, we know as experts in infant feeding and parents ourselves that this is not the reality for most American families. When breast milk is not an option, infant formula is the sole source of nutrition for many infants until solids are introduced. The 83% of infants who consume formula in their first year of life deserve a high quality, safe, and reliable source of food.
“As a mother and founder of an infant formula company, I am hopeful that tomorrow’s conference – the first of its kind in 50 years – will address early nutrition, inclusive of infant formula. 2022 will be remembered as the year that America could not feed our babies and we need to work together to ensure this is a situation parents never face again,” said Laura Modi, CEO and co-founder of Bobbie and mom of three. “Bobbie has decided to use our platform, time, and resources -- as parents first -- to reform this industry from the ground up for the betterment of every single baby, no matter which formula you choose. Reform: it’s the reason I started this company back in 2018, the reason we’ve been fighting to up-level this entire industry since, and this is only the beginning.”
Advocacy is in Bobbie’s DNA and the company has doubled down on its efforts as the nation faces month seven of an unprecedented infant formula shortage. Over the last few months, Bobbie has organized over 80 Hill and Administration meetings and assisted in drafting legislation to bolster domestic manufacturing. Coupled with BobbieLabs, Bobbie’s scientific innovation hub focused on research, Bobbie is primed to improve infant nutrition for future generations.
Aligning with the White House Conference pillars, Bobbie commits to:
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Deploy up to $100m by 2030:
- to advance infant nutrition including strengthening domestic manufacturing to increase scale, redundancy, and resiliency in the industry and;
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to expand Bobbie Labs, an R&D center focused on
- holistic wellness and nutrition for year 1 infants and mothers;
- advancements in sustainable sourcing and manufacturing in infant formula;
- funding critical research to evolve the nutritional framework for product development and share across the industry
- Increase formula access, quality, and options for WIC participants, reaching millions of infants across the United States by advocating for new WIC eligibility requirements and developing new product lines to meet metabolic needs.
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Launch a social impact arm of the business, Bobbie for Change, to create a grassroots-driven national platform centered around access, education, and policy reform on behalf of the modern parent, including
- support for 1500+ individuals impacted by breast cancer treatment to receive free formula while advocating for more inclusive health insurance;
- partnership with government, private and non-profit stakeholders to co-create reform initiatives.
“We are here representing for parents across America who are demanding change in an industry that is severely under-serving our children. We are inspiring lawmakers to make history by prioritizing the needs of babies in reforming the formula industry, which is currently dominated by two legacy companies that own 80% of the market. As a new mom in the midst of my own personal feeding journey, I’m fired up and ready to fight for every baby’s access to nutrition,” said Elaine Welteroth, member of Bobbie’s MotherBoard, journalist, author, and new mom to a 5- month old.
If you’re hungry for change, join us in our advocacy work, visit www.bobbieforchange.org.
About Bobbie
Bobbie is an Organic Infant Formula company that exists to build a parenting culture of confidence, not comparison, where every parent is supported in the feeding choice that is right for them and their baby. Bobbie launched in 2021 as the first direct-to-consumer, subscription-based infant formula company in the US. Today, Bobbie is the only mom-founded and led infant formula in the country and the fastest growing infant formula to enter the US market since the 1980’s. Bobbie’s recipe is modeled after breastmilk and designed to meet the most recent EU nutritional standards for critical ingredients like DHA and iron, while also complying with all FDA nutritional standards for infant formula. Bobbie is focused on providing a purposefully sourced, USDA Organic infant formula with Organic Valley milk from pasture raised cows. It was the first-ever infant formula to receive the Clean Label Project Purity Award and certification as a Pesticide-Free Product. Bobbie was founded in 2018, is based in San Francisco, and is venture-backed. For more information on Bobbie, visit www.hibobbie.com, and follow Bobbie on Instagram @bobbie.
