Princess of Wales backed luxury baby formula brand reveals BIG change

The baby formula brand used by the Princess of Wales when Prince Louis was born is launching a low-price 'affordable' version, after criticism over cost.

The firm behind Kendamil Organic formula, which sells at £15 per tub — twice the price of some other brands — was accused last year by experts of price gouging.

All baby formula must contain the same nutritional composition by law, so cheaper options have all the nutrients babies need. 

Such is the concern, Kendamil maker Kendal Nutricare was singled out by the market watchdog after its profit margins more than quadrupled in two years.

Amid this criticism, today the company announced the launch of a new product, Bonya, which at £8.45 a tub, puts it among the cheapest around.

The move comes after reports of hard-up parents struggling to buy formula, with some skipping meals to afford it or watering it down, 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.

Three out of four UK babies are bottle-fed by the time they are six weeks old, according to the charity Unicef. 

Kendamil estimates around one in three formula-fed babies in Britain consume its products.

The brand got a huge boost in when it was revealed that Catherine, The Princess of Wales opted for it after Prince Louis was born in April 2018.

The new product will be available from Monday in Tesco and Sainsbury’s. 

The price is nearly £10 less per box than the most expensive formula on the market, Aptamil Advanced, which costs £18 for 800g.

It can also be bought using Healthy Start vouchers, a weekly £8.50 voucher from the Government to help parents on low incomes feed their children. 

The cheaper Aldi Mamia formula (£7.09 per 800g) and SMA Little Steps (£7.95 for 800g in most supermarkets) can also be bought with the vouchers.

Markets watchdog the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has been looking into the formula industry after prices rose by 25 per cent between 2021 and 2023. 

Manufacturers have been accused by independent experts of 'greedflation' - a price gouging tactic of artificially raising prices to maximise profits.

The launch of Bonya comes ahead of the publication of the CMA's interim report into its findings, which is due imminently. 

In a previous report last year, the CMA warned profit margins on formula milk sold in the UK were some of the highest in the food industry. 

It singled out Kendamil as an example, highlighting how the company's profit margin had jumped from around four per cent to nearly 20 per cent between the 2020 and 2022 financial years. 

Its net profits soared six-fold from £1 million to £6.7 million 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 rose slightly from £14.75 to £15, according to analysis by the infant public health charity First Steps Nutrition Trust. 

But its Kendamil Classic formula remained £12 for an 800g tin — cheaper than market leading brands Aptamil and SMA.

HOW THE FOMULA BRANDS COMPARE ON PRICE 

Aldi Mamia - £7.09 for 800g

SMA Little Steps - £7.95 for 800g*

Bonya by Kendamil - £8.45 for 800g

Cow & Gate 1 - £10.50 for 800g

Kendamil Classic 1 - £12 for 800g

Aptamil 1 - £13.50 for 800g

HiPP Organic 1 - £13.50 for 800g

SMA 1 - £13.50 for 800g

Kendamil Organic 1 - £15.00 for 800g

Aptamil Advanced 1 - £18.00 for 800g

*In major supermarkets, otherwise £9.75.

The company insists it will use profits from its Kendamil brand to allow it to offer Bonya at a rock-bottom price, and donate one box of Bonya to food banks for every ten sold.

Bonya costs less to make because it is packaged in a box instead of a tin and uses added milk fats as an ingredient, instead of processing whole milk.

The formula is vegetarian, kosher and halal, and does not contain fish or palm oils which are present in some other brands.

But unlike Kendamil, which is the only formula brand made in the UK, Bonya will be manufactured in Europe and will not use British milk.

Co-founder Will McMahon said: 'This is a game-changing low price for a formula product parents can feel good about.

'Families on low incomes are forced to buy lower-priced formulas. 

'We think there is more this industry could do [to help] so we are leading by example in trying to offer the best product at lower prices.'

Kendamil is investing £40 million in tripling the size of its factory so it can produce more formula, after several instances of shortages of the brand in recent months.

The CMA estimates families could save more than £500 in the first year of a baby's life through buying cheaper formula.

But research has shown parents are often pushed into buying more expensive options as clever marketing presents some formula as being 'better' for babies – even though they are all nutritionally the same.

Dr Vicky Sibson, director of First Steps Nutrition Trust, said the launch of cheaper products was a positive step.

She added that the composition of infant formula was strictly controlled and there was 'a lack of evidence' that adding ingredients like milk fats had any health benefits.

'Parents might not want to buy products containing items like palm oil for environmental reasons,' she said. 

'But infant formula is nutritionally complete, which means every brand must have the same balance of things like fats, protein and essential vitamins and minerals. 

'These nutrients may come from different sources but all the ingredients are heavily processed into similar constituent parts before being put together to make formula.'