Why retailers must support families who rely on baby formula

If there’s one subject guaranteed to divide opinion in the parenting community, its the age-old breast vs bottle conversation - and whichever side you come down on, baby formula is an incredibly sensitive subject matter.

While the World Health Organisation recommends that babies should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of their lives, this is not possible in all cases. 

The decision to bottle feed - sometimes medically necessary, sometimes simply a matter of choice - can cause a great deal of distress for some mothers, who feel ashamed (or, more accurately, shamed) due to the sheer weight of societal expectations to breastfeed. Breast might be best, but that doesn’t mean bottle is bad. 

Still, WHO’s recommendation has informed regulation around the marketing of infant formula in the UK. For instance, baby formula cannot legally be marketed for use from birth or included in price promotions. Coupled with inflation, this has led to “parents paying over the odds for infant formula”, according to an interim report published last week by the Competition & Markets Authority.

The CMA’s research highlighted “a number of concerns” relating to “unintended consequences of the regulations”, including a lack of clear and impartial information, companies’ responses to regulation around marketing and and limited competition on formula prices in shops.

The report made several recommendations to improve the sector and - crucially - reduce costs for parents. These include standardising infant formula packaging in hospitals to reduce the influence of branding, implementing price caps and publicising price reductions.

The CMA is seeking feedback on these options from interested parties, including stakeholders, consumers and the industry at large, ahead of publishing its final report in February 2025.

Whatever its final recommendations are, the interim report draws attention to a worsening concern faced by new parents over recent years. The average price for a pack of infant formula rose by 15.2% in 2023, according to NIQ data used in The Grocer’s Top Products Survey [52 w/e 9 September 2023].

Soaring formula prices have already forced cash-strapped parents to resort to desperate measures to feed their babies in some cases. In May 2023, Sky News spoke with parents that had resorted to shoplifting or watering down baby formula with cow’s milk.

One anonymous father was unapologetic about stealing formula. “The price of the milk is criminal,” he said. “Where’s the line? If you’re talking about getting food for your baby, surely that’s not on the wrong side of the line?”

Baby formula is a ’vital necessity’

At the end of last year, the CMA issued a report using data compiled by First Steps Nutrition Trust, which found formula prices had risen by a quarter in two years. In response to the findings, Danone lowered the wholesale price of its Aptamil formula by 7.1% in January.

Following the move, Iceland executive chairman Richard Walker broke infant formula regulations, announcing the retailer would reduce Aptamil shelf prices to reflect Danone’s wholesale price reduction. He argued there should be “immediate changes to the law to allow retailers to tell customers when they have reduced the price of formula”.

The move led the traditional big four supermarkets to slash their prices as well, with Asda CCO Kris Comerford stating “we understand that buying baby formula is a vital necessity in their weekly shop.”

Walker stuck his head above the parapet again in February, promoting Iceland’s “market-leading” prices on SMA Little Steps formula (£7.95/800g) in TV interviews. In the days following the move, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Asda all price-matched Iceland, reducing the price of the 800g packs by 18.5% from £9.75 to £7.95.

The immediate impact of Iceland’s campaign demonstrated how easy it would be to influence change in the category without restrictions to marketing. When one retailer slashes prices, the others inevitably follow, which ultimately benefits the consumer.

From continuing to keep prices low to introducing affordable, own-label lines – as recommended by the Baby Feeding Law Group – retailers should do what they can to support shoppers who rely on infant formula.

Until the CMA publishes its final recommendations in February, parents need advocates like Walker who are willing to put their necks on the line to ensure that the cost of infant formula remains accessible to all families, whatever their reason for using it.