The brand of baby formula used by the Princess of Wales when Prince Louis was born is launching a low-priced “affordable” version, following criticism over the cost.
The company behind the Kendamil Organic formula, which sells for £15 a bottle (double the price of other brands) was accused by experts of price gouging last year.
All baby formulas must contain the same nutritional composition by law, so the cheapest options have all the nutrients babies need.
Such is the concern that Kendamil’s maker, Kendal Nutricare, was flagged by the market watchdog after its profit margins quadrupled in two years.
Amidst this criticism, today the company announced the launch of a new product, Bonya, which at £8.45 a tub, makes it among the cheapest available.
The move comes after reports of struggling parents struggling to buy formula, with some skipping meals to pay for it or diluting it, putting babies’ health at risk.
Charity Sebby’s Corner, which supports struggling families in London and the south-east, said it had seen a 42 per cent increase in requests for baby formula this year.
According to the charity Unicef, three in four UK babies are bottle-fed by the time they are six weeks old.
The company behind the Kendamil Organic formula, which sells for £15 a bottle (double the price of other brands), was accused by experts of price gouging last year.
The brand of infant formula used by the Princess of Wales when Prince Louis was born launches a low-priced ‘affordable’ version after criticism over its cost
Kendamil estimates that around one in three formula-fed babies in Britain consume its products.
The brand received a huge boost when it was revealed that Catherine, Princess of Wales opted for it after the birth of Prince Louis in April 2018.
The new product will be available from Monday in Tesco and Sainsbury’s.
The price is almost £10 less per box than the most expensive formula on the market, Aptamil Advanced, which costs £18 for 800g.
It can also be purchased using Healthy Start vouchers, an £8.50 weekly voucher provided by the Government to help low-income parents feed their children.
Aldi’s cheaper formula Mamia (£7.09 for 800g) and SMA Little Steps (£7.95 for 800g in most supermarkets) can also be purchased with the coupons.
Markets watchdog the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has been investigating the formula industry after prices rose 25 per cent between 2021 and 2023.
Manufacturers have been accused by independent experts of “greed”, an artificial price-gouging tactic to maximize profits.
Industry experts have warned that profit margins on formula milk sold in the UK are among the highest in the food industry.
According to the charity Unicef, three in four UK babies are bottle-fed by the time they are six weeks old, but many parents struggle with the high prices.
The launch of Bonya comes ahead of the publication of the CMA’s interim report on its findings, which is expected to be imminent.
In a previous report last year, the CMA warned that profit margins on formula milk sold in the UK were among the highest in the food industry.
He held up Kendamil as an example, highlighting how the company’s profit margin had jumped from around four per cent to almost 20 per cent between the 2020 and 2022 financial years.
Its net profits increased six-fold, from £1m to £6.7m over the same period, it reported.
And between April 2023 and May 2024, while all other major UK powdered infant formula brands lowered prices or kept them static, the price of Kendamil Organic increased slightly from £14.75 to £15, according to an analysis by children’s public health charity First Steps Nutrition. Trust.
But its Kendamil Classic formula was still £12 for an 800g tin, cheaper than market-leading brands Aptamil and SMA.
The company insists that it will use the profits from its Kendamil brand to be able to offer Bonya at a rock-bottom price and will donate one box of Bonya to food banks for every ten sold.
Bonya costs less because it is packaged in a box instead of a can and uses added dairy fats as an ingredient, rather than processing whole milk.
The formula is vegetarian, kosher and halal, and does not contain fish or palm oils that are present in other brands.
But unlike Kendamil, which is the only brand of formula made in the UK, Bonya will be made in Europe and will not use British milk.
Co-founder Will McMahon said: “This is a game-changing low price for a formula product that parents can feel good about.”
‘Families with low incomes are forced to buy cheaper formulas.
“We think this industry could do more (to help), so we’re leading by example by trying to offer the best product at lower prices.”
Kendamil is investing £40m to triple the size of its factory so it can produce more formula, following several cases of shortages for the brand in recent months.
The CMA estimates that families could save more than £500 in a baby’s first year of life by purchasing cheaper formula.
But research has shown that parents are often forced to purchase more expensive options when clever marketing presents some formulas as “better” for babies, even though they are all nutritionally equal.
Dr Vicky Sibson, director of First Steps Nutrition Trust, said the launch of cheaper products was a positive step.
Manufacturers have been accused by independent experts of “greed”, that is, artificially increasing prices to maximize profits.
It added that the composition of infant formula was strictly controlled and that there was “lack of evidence” that adding ingredients such as dairy fats had any health benefits.
“Parents may not want to buy products containing things like palm oil for environmental reasons,” he said.
‘But infant formula is nutritionally complete, meaning each brand should have the same balance of things like fats, proteins, and essential vitamins and minerals.
“These nutrients can come from different sources, but all ingredients are intensively processed into similar constituent parts before being combined to prepare the formula.”