The healthy kids meal market is heating up.
The news: Grass-fed infant formula brand ByHeart secured $95M and announced completion of its end-to-end domestic manufacturing chain, tripling its capacity.
Pioneering clinical research, the company’s whole milk-based blend closely mimics breast milk for easy digestion and is free of corn syrup, maltodextrin, soy, or palm oil.
Zooming out. With excess sugar and calories, just 35% of leading baby food products meet the WHO’s nutritional standards. But, four major corporations control ~90% of the formula industry.
Striking a chord with wellness-minded parents, ByHeart became the first formula manufacturer to gain FDA registration in 15 years.
Growth spurts. For infants and big kids, better-for-you brands are scaling.
- Selling protein-packed meat pouches, Serenity Kids recently added $52M.
- Reinventing Lunchables, Little Spoon is now the largest DTC kid-food brand in the US.
- A hit with TikTok momfluencers, Amara raised $20M for organic baby snacks in March.
- Targeting 15% market share, formula brand Bobbie acquired a production plant last year.
Meanwhile, with $100M+ in annual revenue, actress Jennifer Garner’s Once Upon a Farm has sights set on an IPO.
Punchline: Sorely lagging in regulation and innovation, the baby food category is ripe for disruption. Speaking to the pain points of health-conscious parents, startups are poised to win.
