We are pleased to share that Kendamil has been the first international manufacturer approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to export significant quantities of non-medicated infant formula to the USA under Joe Biden’s ‘Operation Fly Formula’ to address the ongoing formula shortage crisis in the USA.
Kendamil is the only British made baby milk, supporting hundreds of dairy farms across the UK by sourcing its milk fresh from Red Tractor Accredited farms. Our success has been built on viral word-of-mouth from parents praising the product’s British provenance and unique natural recipe, which uses whole milk as its main ingredient and source of fat versus the industry standard of 100% refined vegetable oils. Kendamil also addresses growing consumer demand for more sustainable, ethical, natural products, avoiding palm oil in our recipes and using plant-based Omega-3 over the conventional choice of fish oil.
Kendamil has been in relevant discussions with the FDA for a number of weeks since news first broke of the formula shortages and measures were announced by the Biden Administration to import international brands into the USA. Following a meeting between Ross McMahon, our Founder and CEO and the Prime Minister Boris Johnson, communications were opened between US authorities and the British Department of International Trade. Being among the first to respond to the FDA’s call for assistance from international manufacturers, Kendamil’s natively English labelling and fully nutritionally-compliant recipe (including iron levels) alongside our strong quality record ensured Kendamil was selected as a part of the effort to supply families in the US with this much needed product.
Our manufacturing facility based in the English Lake District, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is capable of producing 10 million cans of 900g formula per year and today is only operating at around 50% of its total capacity. The growing demand from the UK, Europe, Asian and now the US markets however has led to plans being put in place to more than double our site’s capacity by 2024.
We plan to ship 2 million cans of Kendamil infant milk formula (around 60 million feeds) to the USA over the next 6 months; however, we will continue to prioritise core markets, especially existing customers in the UK. So, our UK parents can continue to purchase the award-winning Kendamil range in over 5,000 stores nationwide.
Much of our success can be attributed to our Kendamil families, sharing their experiences of the product with friends and sharing our passion for quality ingredients. Our recipe is free from palm oil and fish oil, and halal and kosher friendly, making it the most inclusive breast milk substitute available on the market today, and we are incredibly proud to soon be sharing our Kendamil Infant Milk Formula with families in the USA.