Sponsored by Happy Baby Organics. All opinions are our own based on our own experience. Editor’s Note: We only select and work with partners that meet our quality standards, so you can rest assured we only endorse products we believe in.
Ah, is there anything better than a good, old-fashioned showdown? Finding the best formula for your family can be difficult. It may seem every brand claims they have the “best product” – and if you’ve been around TQE for a while, you know that we love to cut through the noise and investigate for ourselves. In this edition of the showdown, we’re comparing two players in the organic infant formula space: Happy Baby and Kendamil. Happy Baby Organics released new formulas and so we’ll be looking at both brands’ ingredient lists, standards, how our babies poop (we keep it real around here), the cost, and availability. Which formula will come out victorious? Read on to find out.
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The Players
Happy Baby: Happy Baby Organics is a mom-founded company that has been at the forefront of innovation in the baby food and formula aisle. As the #1 organic baby food brand*, you may be familiar with their baby food pouches or snacks! The brand just released their second line of organic infant formulas, with a new recipe and look, that will replace the ones parents previously saw on shelves. Backed by over 50 years of breast milk research and their own clinical growth & safety trial with US babies, the new Happy Baby infant formulas are specially designed for baby’s belly and it’s their closest formulation to breastmilk. Plus, their formula is now being made in their very own FDA-registered European facility in Germany (where they share it is rigorously tested from start to finish)!
Kendamil: The origins of what is now Kendamil began with a factory in the United Kingdom. In 2016, the founders took their experience at the factory and created Kendamil, a formula brand of their very own. As a response to the infamous US formula shortage of 2022, the brand expanded to the United States and gained popularity. Today, it is still sold in the States and has even been recognized by the royal family for its success.
Test 1: Ingredients
Happy Baby: In this day and age of greenwashing and confusing labels, what’s a parent to do when reading ingredients? Luckily, we’re here to help. Most notably to us, Happy Baby is the only USDA organic formula with both prebiotics and probiotics to help support baby’ digestive health. Happy Baby’s formula has a Patented Probiotic and Prebiotic Blend designed to mimic the way breast milk helps nourish and develop a baby's gut. While we fully believe fed is best, I’ve read that breastfed babies tend to have a different make up of “friendly bacteria” in their gut than many formula-fed babies. Happy Baby saw this and included their unique probiotics and prebiotics in their new formula to help support gut bacteria to be closer to breastfed infants*! Beyond digestive health (more on that in a bit), this blend also helps promote immune system development, which I hope to have for my kiddo as a new parent.
Happy Baby is also certified organic by both the USDA and the EU and is made in Europe**. In fact, they’re the only formula brand with both of those credentials. With European formulas becoming more popular, it’s really exciting to have an option that is both USDA & EU certified organic! I also love that they have received the Clean Label Project Purity Award, meaning the product has been rigorously tested by a third-party. Happy Baby’s formula also includes expert-recommended DHA, which is an omega-3 fatty acid to help support brain and eye development. The DHA is sourced from wild-caught fish and the source of carbohydrate, which are important for baby’s energy, is lactose from the milk of grassfed cows***. Now that’s the good stuff! My only wish list item is that they remove the palm oil in the ingredients list. Their website explains that palmitic acid is a major saturated fatty component of breast milk and in infant formula, palm oil provides a source of palmitic acid unlike other vegetable oils. So, they include it to achieve a fatty acid profile more consistent with breast milk.
*Compared to formula without prebiotics and probiotics
**With the world’s finest ingredients
***Per National Organic Program Regulation
Kendamil: Kendamil has a pretty good ingredient list that looks to be relatively clean, but it doesn’t seem to have the bells and whistles that Happy Baby has added. While it does contain the expert-recommended DHA levels, Kendamil is not USDA certified organic. And though it is free of palm oil, it doesn’t have a comparable blend of probiotic and prebiotic that Happy Baby has. Coming in at 2.2 g/L vs. Happy Baby’s 8.0 g/L of prebiotics and with no probiotics at all in Kendamil, Happy Baby reigns supreme in this test.
Winner: Happy Baby
Test 2: Poo!
Happy Baby: We’ve never been shy around here, and today is no exception. I mean, poop matters when you’re a parent! Back at it with the prebiotics and probiotics, the blend in Happy Baby is clinically shown to support softer, more regular stools*. And with Happy Baby, we’re seeing pretty soft, regular poops for our 10-month-old most days. I only say most days because we’re experimenting with solids which can always throw a wrench in the poop you’re expecting. Maybe this is TMI, but we’re getting a nice, peanut-buttery looking poop with this (which is healthy, believe it or not!). His belly is clearly at ease – and we’ve seen it upset too many times before.
*Compared to formula without prebiotics and probiotics
Kendamil: I won’t say that the Kendamil poops have been bad, just less consistent. And every parent knows that consistency helps everyone in the fam stay just a bit more sane! If I know he’s going to poop every morning before 8-ish with a “normal” texture, I can be prepared no matter what the day has in store.
Winner: Happy Baby
Test 3: Cost
Happy Baby: While both are sold in several physical stores, let’s use the Target pricing for apples-to-apples comparison. At Target, Happy Baby Organic Infant Formula, Stage 2 is sold for $35.99 for 22.9 ounces. That comes out to $1.57/oz – not liquid ounces to be clear, that’d be wild!
Kendamil: Kendamil Organic Infant Formula is sold for $1.42/oz in a 28.2 ounce can, totaling $39.99 per can. On a per ounce basis, Kendamil beats out Happy Baby by a hair.
Winner: Kendamil
Test 4: Availability
Happy Baby: In trying a variety of formulas over the past few months, I learned how important availability and access is. I hate having to always wait a few days before getting a shipment. Plus, we don’t usually travel with formula cans, meaning we need it to be readily accessible when we get to our destination. Happy Baby’s formula is available at many in-person stores, as well as online: Target, Walmart, Amazon, Whole Foods, Kroger, Meijer, Publix, Safeway and Albertsons to name a few.
Kendamil: I bought Kendamil at Target. While the formula appears to be available DTC on their website, it’s not clear to me where else it is sold. CVS, at least the one I went to, did not have it.
Winner: Happy Baby
Overall Winner: Happy Baby
From its ingredient list to the widespread availability of the product, it’s pretty apparent that Happy Baby’s formula takes the cake here for us. Beyond the tests we called out, I also personally love the thoughtfulness of the different stages of formula. Happy Baby is the only USDA organic formula that offers staged nutrition. Anyone who has had a baby knows that a 2-month-old baby is nowhere near the same as a 10 or 11-month-old baby – and Happy Baby knows this, too, tailoring their formulas to your child’s specific stage and needs. I’ve tried a lot of formulas in my day with my baby… and Happy Baby is the real deal!
