Bobbie Co-Founders Laura Modi And Sarah Hardy On Evolving The Infant Formula Industry And Building A Parent-First Workplace Culture, Part 1

Being a parent is a challenge unlike any other. Every decision is scrutinized and judged—internally and externally—and it often feels impossible to get it right. This is especially true for how we feed our children. Parents who don’t breastfeed their infants, whether by choice or not, have long been shamed with the advice that “that breast is best.” Nevermind how breastfeeding women are treated—gawked at like pariahs, asked to feed their children out of sight in unsanitary bathrooms, and penalized at work for needing to pump on schedule. Indeed, mom shaming is practically a national pastime. While there are of course important benefits to breastfeeding, there are a multitude of reasons why parents may be unable to breastfeed their babies—including mothers who have polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), low breast milk supply, HIV, lack of support at work, or who are receiving chemotherapy. Despite this, the stigma and lack of support remains. It’s this very stigma that has stunted the infant formula industry’s evolution. Most brands in the U.S. market haven’t updated their composition or ingredients in decades. And despite being more than a year into a devastating formula shortage, parents in some parts of the country are still dealing with empty shelves and price hikes, with no solution in sight.

When looking for formula options themselves, former Airbnb colleagues and Bobbie co-founders Laura Modi and Sarah Hardy saw how desperately the industry needed to evolve and took it upon themselves to develop a new business model. Modi and Hardo set out to create Bobbie with a goal to support parents—whether they be their customers or their employees—with a particular focus on creating a workplace in which parents can thrive. With their formula on the market for just over two years, they’re already disrupting the industry as well as workplace culture at large. Intrigued, I sat down to speak with Modi and Hardy about how they are evolving the industry, tackling stigma, and building a parent-first workplace culture.

Liz Elting: Thank you both for taking the time to speak with me today—in addition to running a company, I know you’re both moms, and as a working mom myself, I fully appreciate how busy you both are! Could you please tell the readers a little bit about yourselves and what led you to found Bobbie?

Laura Modi: As a mother of three, including a pandemic baby, I was first inspired to start Bobbie five days after having my first daughter, as I found myself standing in the aisle of a drugstore, holding a screaming infant, fighting a fever and chills brought on by mastitis, absolutely desperate for formula. Each label left me feeling disappointed by the lack of options available to me and my baby—I was staring at ingredients I myself wouldn’t eat. So I decided to do something about it.​

I brought the already incubated idea to Sarah Hardy, my AirBnB colleague at the time, who connected immediately with my vision—having spent countless hours herself tracking down and importing European formula after struggling to exclusively breastfeed her first daughter.

Sarah Hardy: As mothers first and co-founders second, we have remained steadfastly committed to leveling up the infant nutrition industry by creating a new kind of infant formula and a new kind of workplace that truly allows parents to thrive while growing their careers.

Elting: Disrupting a long-standing industry is no easy task. How did you know the market was ready for something different, and how did you approach carving out your own space in an industry dominated by just a handful of large companies? What would you recommend for those looking to evolve their own industries?

Modi: From inception, Bobbie’s mission has been centered around evolving the infant formula industry from the ground up. This is as personal as it gets for us; Sarah and I both struggled to breastfeed and found ourselves turning to the black market for European formula. Going through this, I knew there had to be a better way.

That’s why we’re on a mission to not only bring to market a better formula but to shatter the formula-feeding stigma for all parents. And in doing so, we’re creating a culture where every parent is supported in their feeding decisions, no matter what they look like.

This year, amidst the backdrop of an unprecedented industry shortage, it became crystal clear that reform at the highest levels is necessary to bolster the industry at large to ensure that no parent ever again has to question their ability to feed their children. In the past year, we doubled down on our commitment to enact industry-wide change and participated in over 80 Hill and Administration meetings, addressing upleveled nutritional standards, industry diversification, and bolstering domestic manufacturing.

When it comes to evolving an industry, disruption is the name of the game. In order to create fundamental change, you have to be a disruptor. And underlying disruption is a certain comfort level with taking bold risks and doing it intentionally.

Elting: We’re in the midst of an ongoing formula shortage, and parents are still finding empty shelves in some areas. How has this impacted Bobbie? Have you had to make changes to adjust to the conditions that created this crisis? And is there a solution to address it and prevent further shortages?

Modi: Believe it or not, we just passed the one year mark since the recall that sent the formula industry into disarray. Looking back, we’re most proud of the fact that Bobbie customers were the only formula-feeding parents in the U.S. not impacted by the formula shortage this past year.

Hardy: About one week into the shortage, we made the parent-first decision to pivot our business model and paused taking new customers in order to prioritize our existing subscribers and ultimately, their peace of mind. With our online store closed for seven months, we took to heart our promise that when you subscribe to us, we subscribe to you. And along the way, we still even managed to launch on retail shelves nationwide in Target to increase accessibility during that time.

Modi: In regards to preventing another shortage, we’ve been loud on this matter. On behalf of the 83% of parents who will turn to formula during their baby’s first year, and as parents ourselves, we are fed up with the state of the industry, and for the past year, we’ve been working closely with lawmakers on the Hill in D.C. to push for industry reform—including bolstering domestic manufacturing here in the U.S., increasing options for WIC families, and increasing competition so parents never again have to question how they might feed their babies. Just because the shortage has eased up, the crisis is still very real and we will continue fighting until we see real change in this industry.

The conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.