Rapid online sales growth has propelled Australian baby formula start-up, Sprout Organic, to partner with the world's largest online retailer, Amazon.
"If you told me five years ago that parents would be willing to purchase infant formula online, I wouldn't have believed you," Sprout Organic co-founder Selasi Berdie said.
"Prior to launching Sprout Organic, all of our market research told us that baby formula was a pure grocery play, but the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated e-commerce growth years into the future.
“This is an exciting move for us which will increase convenience and accessibility globally.
"With the distressing infant formula shortages we're currently seeing in the US, especially for parents of infants with dairy and soy allergies, we are also working closely with the FDA and Austrade to try and expedite Sprout's access into the US through this channel.”
Its flagship product consists of a 100 per cent plant-based infant formula created with pea and rice protein.
Sprout Organic said it was disrupting a 120-year-old industry that had seen little to no innovation outside of dairy and soy, which were among the eight most common allergens in the world.
Sprout Organics's partnership with Amazon comes just days after its official debut in the Middle East at the Saudi Food Expo, the largest food, beverage and hospitality trade fair in Saudi Arabia; and weeks after its infant formula was crowned Best Children's Product at the World Food Innovation awards in Europe.