Blackmores baby formula is about to hit Australian shelves

THERE’S a new kid on the block in the sought-after baby formula market, but if you want to buy some of this ‘white gold’, you’d better get in quick.

AUSTRALIAN parents are set to breathe a sigh of relief as one of the nation’s most trusted brands prepares to launch a line of baby formula.

But it’s unclear whether Blackmores’ new range will solve the shortages that have seen supermarket shelves routinely stripped of the product that has been described as “white gold”.

The vitamins company has just made its newborn, follow-on and toddler formula available for pre-order on its website, along with a Chinese online retailer owned by e-commerce giant Alibaba.

“More than 80 years of scientific research into health and nutrition have now been applied to our nutritional food range developed in partnership with Tatura, one of the largest Australian owned dairy producers of Infant Formula, making dairy products for more than 100 years,” Blackmores says on its website.

“Register your email today to be among the first to be notified when Blackmores Infant Formula range becomes available.”

White gold.

When Blackmores announced the joint venture in October, it sent the company’s share price soaring above $200 for the first time, and the official product launch this Saturday is expected to boost it further.

A company spokeswoman was tight-lipped about when the formula would hit shelves, and refused to say how much of the product would be sold within Australia.

Tatura, a subsidiary of Bega Cheese, manufactures popular formula brand Bellamy’s in Victoria’s Goulburn Valley.

Investment bank JP Morgan has tipped Blackmores shares to rise from about $202 to $225 before the end of 2016, Fairfax Media reports.

“We expect the company to launch and market infant formula as a product formulated and manufactured by an Australian company using only premium Australian ingredients,” JP Morgan analysts said in a client note.

“In our view, this could be a meaningful differentiating factor from most of the major infant formula products currently available on the shelf in Australia.”

It’s the company’s reach into China, where demand is booming for “clean and green” Australian products, that is behind the stock’s appeal.

Blackmores also recently signed Li Na, the first Chinese tennis player to win an Australian Open, as a brand ambassador.

The company’s core range of vitamins and supplements has been selling like hot cakes in China, and it’s likely the nation will lay claim to a significant proportion of the formula being produced in Tatura.

But the cupboard was bare: Woolworths regularly sells out of popular baby formula brands.

It remains to be seen whether Blackmores’ entry to the market will assuage Australia’s baby formula crisis, which has seen supermarket shelves stripped of the product to be sent overseas by “grey market” exporters.

But any increase in the amount of formula being produced is a good thing.

According to the supermarkets, which have struggled to keep formula in stock, the inability of existing export channels to keep up with demand has been a driver of local shortages.

Woolworths, Coles and various pharmacy chains have resorted to limiting formula purchases, with the limit ranging from two to eight cans and varying from store to store.

The move came after parents expressed frustration and outrage over being unable to find their preferred brand of formula, as grey market exporters were spotted loading pallets of the stuff from supermarket aisles.

A Woolworths employee revealed how difficult it was to enforce the supermarket’s four-can limit, telling news.com.au last month that unofficial exporters regularly sent crack teams of buyers to clear out shelves.

“There’s a four can limit, but they would hide them all over the store, buy four, run out and get changed into different clothes and come back in to buy more,” the staffer said.

“I’ve had people ring up and say ‘if you let me buy a pallet I’ll give you $3500.”

A Woolworths spokesman said at the time that the supermarket was working hard “to ensure there is sufficient infant formula available for all our customers”.

Some parents who opted to order online from Woolworths found themselves banned from the retailer’s digital shopping platform, as part of the supermarket’s efforts to clamp down on users placing multiple orders and exceeding the four-can limit.

Blackmores’ limit for online orders will be two tins per day to a maximum of four per week.

The formula is priced at the high end, from $25.99 for a 900g can of toddler formula and $29.99 for newborn or follow-on formula, with free shipping on orders over $50.

The website includes a notice advising customers that Blackmores “supports breastfeeding as the best nutrition for babies”, especially in the first six months.

“If you are considering an alternative to breastfeeding, please consult your health care professional,” the notice says.

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