Every year thousands of new parents struggle with feeding allergic or food-sensitive babies and toddlers.
Lactose intolerance in various degrees can cause anything from stomach discomfort and gas to more serious health concerns that can lead to the hindrance of development and growth.
Else Nutrition Holdings Inc (OTCQX:BABYF, TSX-V:BABY), an Israel-based company was born out of the desire to offer parents a nutritious plant-based alternative to dairy-based formulas and meal supplements.
READ: Else Nutrition to raise over $15M for plant-based toddler nutrition product expansion efforts
Proactive spoke with company CEO Hamutal Yitzhak about her passion for the project and how the company plans to grow.
“All the founders of the company, including myself, are veterans of the infant nutrition industry and we have seen the extent of the symptoms and the issues that parents are facing with regards to allergies and intolerances and all kinds of issues that babies have consuming the standard infant dairy or soy-based formulas,” she said.
Yitzhak recounted a case of baby Roni, the granddaughter of one of the company's founder who was born in 2012 severely allergic to formula and was diagnosed with failure to thrive.
“The only solution that the market provides for such a case is segmental formulations that are called specialty formulations, they are very intensively hydrolyzed with all kinds of very artificial means, and you are left with an overly processed product,” the CEO said.
Not only are these specialty formulas overly processed, the first ingredient is also often corn syrup solids which are derived from liquid corn syrup, a glucose-based sweetener.
Wanting to provide a more nutritious plant-based offering, Else’s founders developed the initial almond-buckwheat prototype, which ultimately saved the life of baby Roni, and birthed the company’s line of baby and toddler formula which meets the standards for infant nutrition from 0-12 in terms of nutritional values.
Now almost a decade later, Yitzhak receives messages daily from relieved parents who thank the company for saving their child’s life.
Plant-based nutrition for the whole family
While ‘plant-based’ seems to be a popular buzzword of late, the CEO was quick to point out that Else is a formula alternative, not a flashy, trendy beverage.
“We're not a plant-based drink,” she explained. “We are a nutritionally dense product that actually provides all the macro and micronutrients required for the healthy growth of a toddler and a child and after we complete a clinical pathway – will also comply with the standards of an infant formula from birth.”
DEEP DIVE: Else Nutrition Holdings is seeing its sales momentum accelerate with its plant-based toddler foods
For a market that was virtually undeveloped a decade ago, Else has grown at a rapid pace, selling its products in B&M retail chains as well as leading e-commerce platforms accessing 180 countries.
“We are currently on a clinical pathway to get the FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) and the EU (European Union) permits to market the Else infant formula in the US and EU,” added Yitzhak.
Expanding the range of products is also a goal of the plant-based nutrition company.
“We've launched kids nutritional drinks, which are actually for ages 2 thru 13,’ said Yitzhak, who went on to explain that the new Plant-Powered Kid’s Shake Mixes were developed for parents trying to feed fussy eaters and fill any nutrition gaps in a child/adolescent’s diet.
“They're all plant-based, and they carry the benefits that Else brings with regards to complete, clean nutrition, and minimally processed ingredients,” she added.
Moving ahead Else wants to continue to grow its product lines with the next step in its business model that will address the adult market.
“We are going to get into adult nutrition,” Yitzhak said, noting the company’s IP (Intellectual Property) and technological capabilities are easily scalable to this sector. “I assume in the next year,” she added.
Regardless of how large Else grows, the company remains grounded through its earliest mandate of feeding babies and toddlers who otherwise struggle or cannot digest formula.
The best driver for the entire team is actually around this idea of saving life and changing lives,” she said.
Contact the writer at georgia@proactiveinvestors.com