Top 5 Best Organic Baby Formulas to Help Your Make an Informed Decision
After exclusively breastfeeding three children, I was heartbroken when my body suddenly stop working and “dried-up” when my fourth child was 9-months-old! I knew finding the very best organic baby formula was a must!
I spent hours researching and narrowed my selection down to a few.
Choosing a baby formula is a daunting task. With so many stories of reflux, excessive spitting up, gas, and various tummy trouble for babies, I know you really want to get it right the first time! So did I!
I’ll tell you which one I ended up choosing and used for my own baby below. And for the sake of options, and with the understanding that all babies are different, I’ll include all five of my favorite organic baby formulas – that I believe are excellent quality!
This decision is a big one, and I know how important it is to you that you get it right. Take a deep breath and give yourself some grace. You’ll get it figured out, and this post will help you do so!
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Organic Baby Formula vs. Inorganic Baby Formula
Before we dive into all of the organic baby formula options, it would be wise to spend a minute understanding the difference between organic and non-organic.
Perhaps the word “organic” alone simply feels like a superior option.
I want more than a feeling for you. I want to equip you! When it comes to baby formulas, that means equipping you with knowledge!
Certified organic foods go through a rigorous and extensive inspection process and are heavily regulated. If a farmer, grower, or food maker wants to use the word organic on their product, they are “put through the wringer,” so to speak.
To best understand what it means for something to be organic with regards to food, it helps to understand the word’s antonym, inorganic.
Inorganic in layman’s terms means non-organic matter. Organic matter is the natural and living compounds found primarily (though not exclusively) within natural environments.
Meaning anything inorganic may and likely contains man-made chemical substances, while organic is comprised of naturally occurring, carbon-based compounds in the environment.
Since humans are carbon-based, it makes perfect sense that organic compounds found in foods provide the most benefit and nutrition to human bodies. Inorganic compounds are not easily processed and can often cause digestive problems.
Organic: primarily pure, naturally occurring, mostly carbon-based compounds.
Inorganic: pretty much anything and everything else. That’s the trouble with non-organic foods. They aren’t heavily scrutinized and, as a result, can contain any number of chemical compounds that occur at some point from seed to shelf!
Top 5 Organic Baby Formulas
Earth’s Best Organic Infant Formula with Iron
First up is Earth’s Best Organic Infant Formula with Iron!
Earth’s Best is what I used for my fourth baby when my body suddenly stopped producing milk when he was nine months old.
I appreciate the history of Earth’s Best and how they began as a small company founded by twin brothers, Ron and Arnie Koss, in 1985.
Organic wasn’t much of a “thing” in 1985, so these two pioneers truly leaped something they believed in.
The company has since evolved and is now owned by Hain Celestial Group®
One of the deciding factors for me in choosing Earth’s Best Organic Infant Formula over other choices was affordability.
I was committed to giving my son the best organic formula… that I could afford! Let’s face it; organics can get expensive! We are a family of 6 living off one primary income, so cost was a significant factor in my choice.
Earth’s Best won out over the others for me!
Earth’s Best formulas are available in Dairy, Sensitivity, and Gentle formula options.
The best pricing I have found is on Amazon, where you can get the Sensitivity Formula for $1.06 an ounce (when you subscribe and save on a pack of 4) vs. in stores (Kroger) for $1.25 an ounce.**
The one con that I must assign to Earth’s Best is that a large corporation now owns them. For some consumers, the trust factor decreases the larger the parent company.
*USDA Certified Organic
Purchase Earths Best Organic HERE.
The Honest Company Organic Premium Infant Formula with Iron
Next on our list is The Honest Company Organic Premium Infant Formula with Iron.
Jessica Alba founded The Honest Company after she couldn’t find one company she trusted for all her needs.
The Honest Company makes everything from Infant Formula to Makeup, which gives me mixed feelings about the formula.
On the one hand, I love the fact that the company was created by a mom who wanted the best for her baby. After all, that’s what you and I want too, and we could easily see how the motivation behind that would produce a great product.
However, I also believe in being really good at “your one thing.” Each organic product requires vastly different types and levels of research. The jack-of-all-trades approach of a company that sells a little bit of everything gives me pause.
Nonetheless, the ingredients in The Honest Company Organic Premium Infant Formula with Iron are high quality, and the companies commitment to quality ingredients earn it the #2 spot on my list.
The Honest Company Organic Premium Infant Formula with Iron provides two options: Premium and Sensitive.
The pricing for this formula is roughly the same whether you purchase from the company website or Amazon.
The cost savings here would be had if you are an Amazon Prime user and can, therefore, get free shipping.
You can purchase the Premium Organic Baby Formula by Honest Company on the company’s website here for (estimated) $1.56 an ounce or (estimated) $1.49 an ounce with a subscription on Amazon here.
Purchase The Honest Company Organic Premium Infant Formula with Iron HERE
*USDA Certified Organic
Happy Baby Organic Infant Formula Milk-Based Powder with Iron
Making the third-place spot is, Happy Family Organics makes Happy Baby Organic Baby Formula.
Unfortunately, it is difficult to find out much about how this company got its start.
From my research, I conclude that the company was founded by a mom-entrepreneurs wanting to create quality food products for children.
Their website boasts a lot of community work, giving back, and a tight-knit family atmosphere of employees.
That’s commendable, although it doesn’t tell me much about why I would choose their organic baby formula over another.
Happy Family Organics offers Organic Baby Formula in Stage 1, Stage 2, and Sensitive.
In the end, the Happy Baby Organic Infant Formula Milk-Based Powder with Iron has quality ingredients and a commitment to children, which I can get behind.
Additionally, my VERY FAVORITE thing about this company is the live support offered on the website. You can click over, hit the chat button, and ask questions!
You can purchase Happy Baby Stage 1 Organic Infant Formula with Iron from Kroger here for (estimated) $1.43 an ounce or on Amazon here for $1.36 an ounce, with Subscribe and save. At the time of writing this post, there are no cost savings when buying a four-pack.
Purchase Happy Baby Stage 1 Organic Infant Formula with Iron HERE.
*USDA Certified Organic
Hipp Organic Combiotic First Infant Milk
Next up is Hipp Organic Combiotic First Infant Milk.
Huggable makes hipp Organic Combiotic First Infant Milk. Huggable was founded by Madhu Punjabi. Her story goes that after having a difficult time breastfeeding, she couldn’t find a formula she was happy with, so she created her own (sounds familiar right.)
Huggable is a UK-based company.
The customer reviews on their website lend 4.9 out of 5 stars.
While perusing the Huggable website, I really liked everything I saw.
The ingredients in this formula are phenomenal with an exceptional probiotic count!
Some drawbacks to Hipp Organic Combiotic Organic Baby Formula are that it’s currently only available on Amazon in large quantities, which can get expensive, and that products are often out of stock on the website.
The silver lining to products being out of stock regularly is that it’s in high demand. Which may mean people really like it!
Huggable has too many Infant Formula Options to list. Their shopping page is extensive, even including a goat’s milk option called Holle!
Click over there, shop around, and try not to get overwhelmed!
You can purchase Hipp Organic Combiotic First Infant Milk HERE.
**In line with EEC Organic regulations, however, I could not find a USDA Certification on this product.
Sorry, no image available!
Bellamy’s Organic Infant Formula
Lastly, we have Bellamy’s Organic Infant Formula!
Bellamy’s organic is an Australian-based company, founded in 2004, by a, you guessed it, mother, who wanted a better product for her baby!
This formula boasts top-notch ingredients, including DHA, RHA (vital for brain development), and loads of minerals and vitamins.
Bellamy’s organic also has a full line of baby food products with equally good ingredients.
One thing that stood out to me while researching the company was how much transparency and knowledge they provide.
They have a highly experienced staff of nutritional experts on their team, including a pediatric dietician, an organic certification facilitator, and a formula R&D Advisor with over 20 years of experience.
You can find Bellamy’s Organic Infant Formula available in FOUR STAGES! For newborns through preschoolers! I love this!
Many times mothers are told by their pediatricians that their children require further nutritional supplementation, however, toddler formulas are a relatively NEW concept. Bellamy’s is already on top of it!
Furthermore, they even offer an adult formula for pregnant women! How cool is that!?
Another one of my favorite things about Bellamy’s is its affordability!
While you are unlikely to find Bellamy’s on Amazon, you can find it on their website for a mere $.95 an ounce! WOW!
Purchase Bellamy’s Organic Infant Formula HERE.
**Certifed Organic per Australian certification system.
***PICTURED BELOW IS BELLAMY’S STAGE 2! BE SURE TO ORDER THE STAGE YOU NEED!
Organic Ranking System
There are four levels of organic food certification.
The highest quality rank for organic foods is “100% Organic Certified.”
A product with this on the label means that all ingredients and processing aids must be certified organic. These foods may use both the USDA organic seal and the 100% organic claim.
One step down from that is the “Organic Certified” rank.
These foods go through an inspection process and have to be certified as organic, however, they can contain up to 5% non-organic content.
These foods may also use the USDA organic seal.
I am “OK” with this certification! Many times, the reason a company would choose this certification over the 100% organic is due to equipment “processing aids” being used to process non-organic materials in addition to their organic products.
This is not a deal-breaker in my book.
Stepping down one more level is the “Made With Organic Ingredients” rank.
This is just what it sounds like!
These products are just plain ole’ “better than most.” They are conventional products made by companies (or people) who are trying to go above and beyond to make a superior product but may not be able to afford (or choose not) to make the significant investment in Organic Certification.
These products cannot use the USDA Organic seal. They will instead typically say, “Made With Organic Ingredients.”
The lowest level of organic ranking is “Specific Organic Ingredients.”
These products could be anything. They may state the use of organic ingredients in the ingredients list, however, less than 70% of the ingredients are organic, so they may not use the USDA organic seal, or overall, make claims to be organic.
To the best of my knowledge and research, all of the above products are a level 1 or 2 rank. The majority boast a USDA Certified Organic Seal, while the others are Certified organic by the respective countries!
Which Organic Baby Formula is Best for Your Baby?
I chose to keep this list to 5 Organic Infant Formulas because you have enough to overwhelm you right now. The last thing you need is more confusion.
These are the very best organic infant formulas, in my opinion.
There are others to choose from, however, the majority of others are made by companies that are not exclusively organic.
You can shop a larger selection of organic infant formulas here.
Companies such as Similac, Gerber, and Plum (owned by Campbells Soup Company) also make an organic version of formula. I simply don’t think, the ingredients and processing just aren’t “up-to-snuff,” so I choose to opt for a company dedicated to purity of ingredients and wholesome nutrition.
This list should take a bit of the pressure off as you make the decision to put your baby on an Organic Baby Formula.
I know balancing choosing the very best food with spending money wisely is a wobbly tight-rope to walk. This list is intended to make your life easier and guilt-free! Any choice you make from this list is a good choice for your baby!
The very fact that you’re putting such effort into this decision is proof positive that you’re a fantastic mama!
Well done, my mama friend… Well done!
**All prices are subject to change. Amazon changes prices regularly, so be sure to double-check pricing before purchasing. Above prices are estimates only.
