WINNING FORMULA
State and local leaders celebrate new facility in Exeter
Parents across the country have been scrambling for months trying to secure enough infant formula to feed their children.
A national formula shortage — fueled by a recall and plant shutdown at one of the country’s largest producers — has left store shelves barren. Canisters of the powdered product are being scooped up as soon as they hit the shelves.
The situation initially was caused by pandemic supply chain breaks and was ignited into a full-blown crisis by the February recall by manufacturer Abbott.
It has recently gained attention at the highest levels, with the federal government taking several actions to help ease the strain. President Joe Biden was even slated to hold a meeting with representatives from U.S. formula manufacturers on Wednesday to discuss the problem.
Parents are looking for any help they can get.
Fortunately, some assistance is on the way thanks to a new facility in Exeter Township.
Gov. Tom Wolf stopped by the ByHeart infant formula plant on Wednesday to highlight the new manufacturer’s potential to aid in easing the crisis. The company, which officially launched production in March, is the first federally approved formula manufacturer in the U.S. in the last 15 years.
Isabella Torres hopes the addition of a new manufacturer to the field will soon help make infant formula easier to find.
The 19-year-old Reading High School graduate spoke at Wednesday’s event about the hardships she has experienced trying to find formula for her 3-monthold son, Mateo.
“Despite my efforts to breastfeed, the best decision that I could have made was to choose formula,” she said. “And I am not alone. Many mothers rely on formula. Some mothers are unable to breastfeed because of an
inadequate supply or just health issues in general.
“Other mothers are working low-wage jobs that lack health insurance and don’t afford them the time to breastfeed.”
Torres said mothers who rely on formula, for whatever reason, have been in a panic the last few months.
“Mothers like me have been desperate to find formula — crossing state lines, posting on social media — to feed our children,” she said. “While I am still worried, I am also grateful and hopeful that investments in facilities like ByHeart will increase baby formula production so that parents like me don’t need to worry any longer.”
Wolf said that’s exactly why the state decided to support ByHeart’s effort to open its Exeter plant. 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 am so proud that Pennsylvania could support this at a time when the country is facing a critical infant formula shortage that’s causing so much pain for families,” the governor said. “The shortage is fueled, in part, by the fact that the nationwide market is dominated by just a few manufacturers. It’s wonderful that Pennsylvania can lay claim to the first baby formula manufacturer to open up in 15 years.”
He said was he honored to have had the opportunity to invest in a solution and that ByHeart chose Pennsylvania as its home.
“They’re simultaneously feeding families and feeding our local economy,” he said.
ByHeart was awarded $1.75 million in Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant funding for improvements to its facility last December.
The 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-toend formula manufacturing site in the U.S.
Other local leaders also took part in Wednesday’s event, lending their support to ByHeart’s efforts. Those in attendance included first lady Frances Wolf, state Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding, U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, state Sen. Judy Schwank and state Rep. Mark Gillen.
ByHeart President Mia Funt said that when she and her brother Ron Belldegrum founded ByHeart five years ago they took a path that no new entrant into the industry has in decades to own and oversee their own supply chain. That meant acquiring their own manufacturing facility, hand-selecting every ingredient and running the largest clinical trial from a new brand in more than 25 years.
“We knew we had to do the hard work to deliver the most wholesome and nutritious alternative to breast milk — with the cleanest ingredients — so parents could feel confident about how they feed and nourish their babies,” she said.
Funt said what they didn’t know at the time was how valuable this approach would become in having levers in our control to show up for parents in this time of need during an infant formula shortage.
And, she said, they appreciate all the support and investment from the commonwealth towards ByHeart’s continuing efforts to fortify infant nutrition’s critical infrastructure.
The new facility is expected to create 50 jobs over the next few years, and the company’s investments in Berks are not over. Funt said the company plans to invest in an additional manufacturing facility as it ramps up retail distribution.
The company’s products are only available for purchase online, but Funt said the hope is to get it on store shelves across the nation as soon as possible. It was unclear how long that would take.
Schwank said she is happy to have played a part in advocating on behalf of the company for state funds. She said the investment makes sense from every standpoint: The facility provides jobs to the local workforce, provides a wholesome product for parents and provides support to the dairy industry.
She said ByHeart recognized everything that Pennsylvania brought to the table and is not perfectly positioned to help ease the burden people are feeling and increase the supply of a product that is crucial to the health and well-being of babies.
“This is a great example of how those investments the commonwealth makes can make a difference in communities and even in the world,” she said.