Infant formula plant gets $8.25 million
State funding for increased capacity, hiring
As part of ongoing efforts to address the national infant formula shortage, Pennsylvania is making a major investment in a Berks County company.
Gov. Tom Wolf announced Thursday that the state will be providing $8.25 million in funding to ByHeart, the first federally approved formula manufacturer in the U.S. in the last 15 years. He said the investment will support increased capacity and hiring that will ultimately feed up to 500,000 more babies.
This is the second allocation of state dollars to the Exeter Township company.
ByHeart was awarded $1.75 million in funding for improvements to its facility last December. That funding was used to help complete the $21.6 million facility on Vanguard Road, where every aspect of production of formula is done. The plant is only the fourth end-to-end formula manufacturing site in the U.S.
Wolf and other local leaders visited the facility last week to highlight the state’s investment in ByHeart.
During that visit, Wolf said the project represents the kind of public and private cooperation that is needed to address an issue as massive and dire as the formula shortage.
“I promised to do everything I can to support Pennsylvania families, this $8.25 million investment does just that by allowing ByHeart to continue scaling up their business and nourishing more babies,” Wolf said in a press release announcing the additional funding Thursday. “What ByHeart is doing is amazing and innovative, I’m proud to invest in them and that they chose Pennsylvania as home.”
The $8.25 million brings the total investment in ByHeart to $10 million through the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program.
Wolf said the additional investment, along with continued private investments, will support increased capacity and hiring that will allow ByHeart to feed an additional 500,000 babies within the next two years — and nearly half that within six months.
ByHeart President Mia Funt said the company is incredibly proud to be in a position to be able to pull levers to increase capacity and scale as quickly as possible to support parents during this challenging time.
“We continue to be grateful for the visionary leaders of the commonwealth, and the support of Gov. Wolf and so many others to move quickly to be part of the solution to this national crisis,” she said.
“I promised to do everything I can to support Pennsylvania families, this $8.25 million investment does just that by allowing ByHeart to continue scaling up their business and nourishing more babies.” — Gov. Tom Wolf