Keir Starmer yesterday announced the government would “take action” on infant formula, offering clearer guidance for retailers and allowing parents to use loyalty points and vouchers to buy babymilk.
This followed a market report published by the CMA in February, which found that parents could save hundreds of pounds a year by switching to a cheaper – but nutritionally equivalent – infant formula.
Some retailers were quick to commend Starmer’s announcement, with Iceland chairman Richard Walker describing the decision to (finally) allow parents to use loyalty discounts as a “huge step forward”. “This decision will make a real difference to families across the UK,” he wrote in a LinkedIn post.
Meanwhile, Aldi CCO Julie Ashfield said she was “backing the government’s mission to make infant formula more affordable”, as the discounter committed to freezing the price of its Mamia First Infant Formula at £6.99 until summer 2026.
Halting inflation
The CMA’s investigation and report have already had a meaningful impact on halting inflation across infant formula. Prices are down by an average 0.3% year on year across over 600 like-for-like SKUs available from Aldi, Amazon Fresh, Asda, Boots, Co-op, Iceland, Lidl, M&S, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose [Assosia 4 December 2024 vs 4 December 2025].
That’s not to say there haven’t been price increases on specific lines in specific retailers. For instance, Aptamil Anti-Reflux Infant Milk Formula, 800g is up 16.1% from £15.50 to £18 in Amazon Fresh. Meanwhile, SMA from Birth First Infant Milk 800g and Little Steps from Birth First Infant Milk 800g are both up 6% from £7.95 to £8.43, in Asda and Sainsbury’s, respectively.
However, these increases have been balanced out by price drops elsewhere. For instance, Cow & Gate 1 First Infant Milk from Birth 200ml is down 18%, from £1 to 82p in Asda; Aptamil 1 First Baby Milk Powder, From Birth, 800g is down 17.4%, from £15.50 to £1.80 in Amazon Fresh; and Little Steps from Birth First Infant Milk 800g is down 12.9%, from £9.75 to £8.49 in Boots.
It’s notable that these reductions are fairly significant. In the face of rising inflation elsewhere across the supermarket shelves, holding prices at roughly the same point across the whole of infant formula is impressive work.
Clearing up confusion
The wide scope of products and prices is understandably confusing for new parents, and it’s exactly this that the government is hoping to tackle. But some health and early stage nutrition experts are arguing the government’s plans don’t go far enough. After all, the government has rejected two of the CMA’s recommendations: standardising labelling in healthcare settings and introducing a pre-approval process for infant formula product labels.
While the government accepted that standardised labelling in healthcare settings might reduce misconceptions over brand superiority, it also raised food hygiene and safety concerns around implementation. Covering up brand labels could conceal mandatory information, including allergens and preparation instructions, it argued.
Even in light of these (quite logical) concerns, First Steps Nutrition Trust director Dr Vicky Sibson believes this is a “missed opportunity to eliminate brand influence in the most vulnerable early days of a baby’s life”.
Misleading marketing
The government also said three of the CMA’s recommendations require ”further work” before the most appropriate and effective solutions can be identified. These are: product label messaging on nutritional sufficiency, restricting intangible and/or non-verifiable messages, and extending the restrictions on advertising to follow-on formula.
It remains unclear what further work those recommendations need.
Sibson warns that “unless regulations on marketing covering all formula milks are strengthened and enforced, they will be continually bombarded with advertising which undermines these efforts”.
Similarly, Dr Katie Pereira-Kotze, secretariat of the Baby Feeding Law Group UK, argues: “In the current environment, where any evidence-based information from health professionals gets drowned out by misleading marketing, it will remain vital to prioritise strengthening legislation governing the marketing of all formula milks, and to enforce it properly.”
Pereira-Kotze also calls the government’s approach of “placing the onus on parents to make better choices and shop around… concerning”.
It’s clear from the mixed reactions of retailers and health professionals alike that Starmer’s plans are no silver bullet when it comes to the infant formula category. But the government is finally making (baby) steps in the right direction.
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