At Bobbie, we believe marketing is not simply about growing a business. It is about earning trust.
The United States has never adopted the World Health Organization's International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes. That means the responsibility to market infant formula ethically cannot rest solely on regulation, it must also rest on the values of the brands that serve families.
We also recognize that there is no universal parenting experience. Every country, and every community within it offers parents a different level of support; Access to healthcare, lactation guidance, insurance coverage, paid family leave, clean water, affordable nutrition, reliable formula supply, and evidence-based information varies dramatically. Parents do not make feeding decisions from the same starting line because the systems surrounding them are not equal.
What is universal is something else entirely: parents' ability to make thoughtful decisions for their own families when they have honest information and real choice.
We reject the idea that parents need to be persuaded into feeding one way or another. Our role is not to exploit uncertainty. Our role is to educate clearly, communicate truthfully, present evidence transparently, and ensure parents understand the options available to them, when options and choice is exactly what they need.
This Bobbie Code exists because we believe ethics are not something that should happen only when governments require them. They are a choice. A responsibility. And for a company entrusted with feeding babies, they are a standard we hold ourselves to every day.
Bobbie Code Of Ethics
The following principles define how Bobbie markets infant formula in the United States: with scientific integrity, radical transparency, and deep respect for every parent's right to make informed decisions for their family.
We will never claim, imply, or allow a reasonable consumer to believe that formula is nutritionally superior to breastmilk. Every piece of content, advertising, and product communication is reviewed to ensure it does not undermine breastfeeding. We are the only US company to offer free IBCLC-led lactation support (customer or not) to help every family navigate their feeding options - including continuing to breastfeed.
The majority of our customers are still breastfeeding or pumping when they come to Bobbie. We exist at the intersection of breastfeeding and formula feeding because that is where American parents are.
Creating a divisive line between breast and formula doesn’t meet parents in their reality. Our content, education, partnerships, and products support the full feeding spectrum. We do not position formula as a competitor to breastmilk - only as a complement when needed, and a complete alternative when chosen.
Parents who choose formula deserve to be met with science, clarity, and zero judgment. We do not attach unsolicited "breast is best" messaging to formula marketing - by the time a parent is purchasing infant formula, that decision has been made. Our marketing efforts bring confidence and surprise and delight to the process of purchasing, unboxing and using the product because formula feeding parents deserve to feel supported, not shamed, in their choices. Our job is to ensure they have the best information and the best product.
We share real stories. The shame and silence around formula feeding in America is a public health problem. When parents share their decision to use formula - because of mental health, latch challenges, milk supply, return to work, or personal preference - those stories deserve to be told to help more parents feel seen, understood and less alone. We amplify them not to recruit formula customers, but to reduce the stigma that affects U.S. parents who report guilt about how they feed their babies.
We respect every parent’s right to make the feeding decision that is right for their family. We do not purchase pregnancy data to market formula to parents who have not sought it out. We do not require parents to acknowledge formula inferiority as a condition of accessing our products. We do not substitute our judgment for theirs. We believe that women have body autonomy and are smart and capable of making the choice that is right for them and their family.
We will not ship unsolicited samples to consumers or healthcare professionals. We will not offer financial incentives to healthcare providers to recommend our brand. We will not target parents who have not actively sought out formula. We will not disparage competitor formulas. These are brand commitments, and we hold to them regardless of what is legally permitted in a given market.
[Note: This principle maps directly to Articles 5, 6, and 7 of the WHO International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes.]
Our clinician-facing work is built around closing gaps in infant feeding education surfaced through parent communities, clinicians' self-reports, and peer-reviewed literature. We defer to experts to share guidance to parents in need of formula, never asserting ourselves in conversations or as a recommendation over breastfeeding. We do not provide kickbacks to providers or purchase data from medical entities. We serve as an ally to medical providers in their care to support parents who have an identified need for formula.
It is our duty to give parents access to the same organic options in America that millions have access to internationally. American organic formulas are 20% more expensive than comparable options abroad. Formula feeding is inherently expensive and we understand that parents deserve savings to support their feeding journeys. We offer trial promotions to ensure families have less inhibited access to organic formula knowing Bobbie will not be the choice for every family.
Every influencer, creator, and public figure who promotes Bobbie is a genuine Bobbie customer who chose and uses the product for their own baby prior to our engagement with them. We do not pay anyone to endorse a product they do not use, or encourage them to use a product they have not already chosen. All paid partnerships are transparently disclosed in full compliance with FTC guidelines. All content is reviewed by regulatory and legal teams to ensure all claims are valid and truthful. A parent sharing their formula brand of choice is no different than sharing their favorite stroller or car seat– formula is one of many key products that support the first year of parenting.
Parents deserve clear, factual, and scientifically grounded information about infant formula, including how to compare brands, ingredients, and nutritional profiles. We share this education through content, pediatricians, and feeding experts, including IBCLCs. All nutritional and comparative claims in our marketing are substantiated, FDA-reviewed, and backed by published science. We believe restricting parents' access to accurate formula information is paternalistic - not protective.
Bobbie is the only formula company to actively lobby in Washington, D.C. for universal paid parental leave. We work directly with lawmakers and regulators and bring stories of our community to their desks to help shed light on the impact of lack of paid leave in the US. We believe that protected parental leave is the single most impactful policy change the United States could make to improve breastfeeding rates - far more meaningful than any marketing restriction. We hold this position publicly, consistently, and without commercial reservation.
At Bobbie, we are dedicated to educating and supporting families throughout their feeding journey – no matter what it looks like. We strive to be a trusted partner, providing reliable, evidence-based information and products that give families peace of mind and confidence. We are deeply committed to supporting families in feeding their babies nutritionally-exceptional products that support their growth and development. It’s a privilege to help create generational impact for U.S. families by using our platform and resources to fund infant feeding research that will drive innovation as well as policy and cultural change.
You can learn more at Bobbie Medical and Bobbie for Change.
