SWAPPING DAIRY FOR PLANTS IN INFANT FORMULA

For what reasons might a parent opt for a plant-based baby/ toddler formula?

There are multiple reasons why a parent would look towards a plant-based formula for their child. For some it is the ideology of wanting to do less harm to animals or the planet, whilst for others it’s simply understanding that a whole-food plant based diet holds many nutritional benefits. Just like dairy, soy is a common allergen, so for parents who have babies with underlying allergies or medical conditions, plant-based formula is a game-changer. That being said, we are finding an equal amount of people wanting to choose the product because the ingredients are cleaner and more natural.

What are parent’s expectations regarding the nutritional profile of plant–based infant formula?

Something that often isn’t talked about is that very few parents actually understand what they are purchasing when it comes to infant formula due to the product not being able to be advertised under the MAIF (Marketing in Australia of Infant Formulas) agreement. For this reason, parents are usually buying a product not from a nutritional standpoint, but from a feature or benefit they see on packaging that aligns with what they feel benefits their child. This may be ‘organic’, ‘premium’ or ‘Australian-made’ just to name a few.

Why are there so few plant-based infant formula options on the market?

The main reason is because food laws that have been set up in such a way that makes it extremely hard to produce a compliant product not only in Australia, but globally. This isn’t due to plant-based ingredients being inferior to dairy ingredients, but rather standards that prevent the use of whole and nutritious plant-based ingredients.

We were fortunate enough to have an extensive background in plant-based products that allowed us to overcome these barriers; however, we are hoping that we are the catalyst for change that allows some of these barriers to be removed so the global nutritional benefits to kids can be seen

What are the key ingredients in infant formula?

Infant formula should be thought of no different to whole-food sources. It is made up of carbohydrates, protein, and fats with the addition of vitamins and minerals. The majority of infant formulas use dairy to form their proteins whereas we utilise organic and sprouted rice and pea protein which together form a complete amino acid profile. The majority of formula companies also use glucose

(sugar) as a carbohydrate, whereas Sprout uses rice starch as its base carbohydrate.

What inspired you to launch Sprout Organic?

My wife Jen and I are both plant-based, passionate about health and nutrition, and proud parents to two cheeky boys Ellis and Kingston. When our first son, Ellis, was born, Jen began to suffer from mastitis towards the end of the breastfeeding journey. We started exploring formulas to help support providing nutritious sustenance for Ellis. As health-conscious parents who care deeply about providing the best nutrition for our kids, we thought it would be possible to find a nutritious plant-based formula. What seemed like what was going to be a short trip to the supermarket led to a further trip to a health food store, then to a pharmacy, and to eventually looking at every product we could find online only to discover that there actually wasn’t an organic plantbased option available — and not just in Australia, but across the globe! We’d identified a huge gap in the market, and wondered how many parents were going through this exact same problem. With my background in food science and product development, combined with Jen’s background in design, we decided to take on the challenge to create something ourselves. Three years on we welcomed to the world our second son Kingston (our little koala — you may have noticed him on the packaging!) along with the beginning of what we feel is our life mission, to create nourishing, wholesome, plant-based nutrition for happy, healthy kids.