Note: This article was originally published in May 2009. I have not researched current product offerings to determine whether formulas have changed since then. I do stand by my original warning that different brands are not quite identical, and to use caution when switching to a different formula. I am not affiliated with any of the brands mentioned.
I’ll admit I was a little bit naive when it came to planning for the birth of my first son. I knew I was going to breastfeed because it was the best thing I could do for him…and it would save me a couple thousand dollars that would otherwise be spent on formula and bottles.
It never occurred to me that the method of feeding was more than just a simple decision I had to make, and I might not be able to breastfeed. But as it turned out, between a health condition on my part and protein sensitivities on my baby’s part, we just couldn’t do it and the cost of formula feeding soon reared its ugly head.
Formula is the single most expensive baby item that we have had to purchase on a regular basis. A 25.7-ounce can of the “regular” brand name powdered baby formula that we tried first cost about $25.00.
But my son couldn’t digest the regular stuff, so we soon found ourselves purchasing the slightly more expensive “gentle” formula (about $25.00 for 24 ounces).
Trying to find ways to make formula more affordable and put our monthly budget back into the black, I researched generic (or store brand) baby formulas (read more about affording baby formula here). After reading information from doctors, moms and formula companies, I was comfortable trying generic formula, which would cost significantly less.
The FDA has implemented strict guidelines for baby formula manufacturers. There are numerous nutritional requirements that any baby formula must meet. That means that, nutritionally, the $15 store brand formula is no different from the $25 can of brand-name powder.
Why the vast difference in price? Just like with other generic products, the companies that manufacture store brands do not spend the extra money on groundbreaking research, expensive marketing campaigns, hospital and doctors’ office freebies, and fancy packaging.
Most of the store brands you’ll find on the shelves, including Parent’s Choice at Walmart, Simply Right (formerly Member’s Mark) at Sam’s Club, Up & Up at Target, and Babies R Us are all manufactured by the same company, Perrigo Nutritionals (formerly PBM Products).
My son was doing well on the brand-name gentle formula and I thought that, all things being equal, it made sense to switch to the store brand in order to save almost $10 per can.
You’ll notice that the store brands offer a variety of different formulas to match up with the offerings from Similac and Enfamil, even copying the colors that the well-known companies use for their packaging. They tout their products as being identical to the more expensive brands, showing side-by-side the same quantities of vitamins, minerals and nutrients.
These companies make a pretty convincing argument that it’s just plain silly to spend extra money when you don’t need to — I saw magazine ads that stated “The only difference is the price”. What was I waiting for?
I picked up a purple can of store-brand powder hoping my son would be able to tolerate it. But I noticed right away that it wasn’t the same as the Enfamil Gentlease I had been buying — it had a different consistency, a deeper color, and a different smell. However, I knew that nutritionally it was the same, so I carried on.
My baby’s negative reaction to the new formula was immediate and severe enough that I threw away half a can of the store brand powder, never to try it again.
While he was able to tolerate the brand-name gentle formula, his colicky symptoms returned with the store brand. Worst of all, he became severely constipated on the new formula. My baby was in a tremdous amount of pain and even bleeding just because I had switched his formula.
I was absolutely horrified that I had caused my child to suffer in order to save some money.
But why hadn’t he been able to tolerate the store brand? Wasn’t it exactly the same as the more expensive formula? That’s what I had been promised!
I decided to take a closer look. I set the two cans side by side, and reviewed the Nutrition Facts. Yes, the numbers were the same.
Next, I explored the ingredients, and that’s where I discovered some subtle differences.
The store brand listed “Nonfat Milk” as its second ingredient and Whey Protein Hydrosolate fourth. Enfamil Gentlease, meanwhile, had Partially Hydrolyzed Nonfat Milk and Whey Protein Concentrate Solids (Soy) listed second.
It would appear that in the Enfamil, both the milk and whey proteins are broken down (hydrolyzed), while in the store brand only the whey (hydrosolate) is made easier to digest. Breaking down these proteins, which some sensitive babies have difficulty digesting, is what makes a formula “gentle”.
Store brands such as Parents Choice advertised that their Gentle Formula contained 1/4 the lactose of regular formulas, while Enfamil advertised that Gentlease has about 1/5 the amount.
Too close to matter? I believe that tiny differences can make a world of difference in tiny lactose-sensitive bodies.
I also noticed that the two brands differed in the amounts and types of fillers that they used, which definitely explained the difference in appearance, and could explain the severe constipation that my baby experienced.
While I do feel, like most parents, that brand-name formula is expensive, the additional research funded by the company seems to have helped produce a better, gentler product for my baby.
I believe it is wrong for retailers to mislead parents by marketing their store brands as identical to the name brands, except for the price. Identical Nutrition Facts (which list amounts of nutrients) are simply not the same thing as identical ingredient lists.
I’m certainly not trying to scare parents away from generics entirely — I know that many parents face difficult choices due to tight budgets. But as with any product, be sure to do your research and be on the lookout for adverse reactions if you decide to make a change.
If your baby has no digestive problems, you may be able to offer generic formula without ill results, and save a lot of money in doing so. If you are feeding your baby a gentle formula due to digestive problems, however, I would proceed with extra caution.
Keep in mind that generic and brand name formulas are different products, and focus on finding the one that works best for your baby.
Why I won’t buy store brand formula ever again
My son reacted to generic formula in a way that other babies might not. Many parents use store brand formula with no problem whatsoever. I am not here to tell you that store brand formula is dangerous, unhealthy, or anything else. But I personally will never try using it again, and here’s why:
- I felt betrayed by the misleading advertising I saw, and I will not help to fund more of the same. At the end of the day, generic formula companies are out to make money just like the better known corporations — there is no altruistic mission at the bottom of their enterprise. I guess you could say I’m boycotting them.
- I’ve decided that having a happy, healthy, comfortable baby is more important than saving a bit of money for one year.
- Formula feeding is not ideal, but some of us have to do it. I would rather support companies that conduct research to produce the best possible imitation of breast milk, not an imitation of other formulas.
Hey Jen! Wanted to chime in on what i assume is an old post, but worth the comment. One other main difference in SB vs Name Brand formula is the oil blend that is used. Our son was a very sick baby with alot o digestive issues. We were given Emfamil from WIC and it was terrible, our Peds office gave us a sample of Goodstart (nestle) and stilll it was horrifying. Constipation, screaming, gas, bloating. Then we tried the generic of Goodstart (“tender”) because he was sick anyway I might as well same some money. Well lo and behold he got better. It was slow at first, but as his belly was able to heal he was able to sleep again, his gas and bloating subsided. He pooped on his own, and we were even able to go of the meds. When we talked to the Dietician she told us about the “oil blend” as the main issues in babes tolerating one vs the other. So while generic can make some kids really sick so can the name brands. We stuck with generic for our subsequent babes because it worked for us, and we couldn’t risk the pain the name brand caused our first baby.
I see that this is an older article but I’m so glad I found it! I recently switched to the Walmart brand formula for sensitive tummies because it was cheaper than the Similac. Today, I noticed my 7 week old daughters stools were harder than normal and she was having a hard time going, which was not happening on brand name formula. I decided to see if others were having the same issue with their babies and I came across your article. Thank you! I am going out tomorrow and getting her a can of Similac. You are right, it’s not worth savi g a few bucks if you don’t have a happy baby ?
Unfortunately, it’s not so cut and dry as store brand vs name brand. My son was horribly gassy and constipated on Similac Sensitive and is now doing better on a store brand.
I’m reading often that people who dislike the store brand formula are stating that constipation became an issue. We experienced this too at first but then quickly realized that the formula packed more due to it’s powdered consistency. We started scooping in a way that didn’t compact it as much and the issue disappeared. I found that the store brand was just a tad bit more prone to clumping than the name brand. We still filled our provided scoop, we just did so from a corner that was “fluffed” up and scooped so we didn’t scoop using the wall to push it in. It was an easy fix and saved us hundreds. We also used store coupons and deals to get prices down further. We also found that mixing a large batch in a large container for the day was very effective.
I too used entail gas ease. They seamed more grassy with the switch from the preemie formula I gave them. Trying to hold out to see if the switch worked, I switched to Walmart brand Parents. choice and have had no issues whatsoever. My twins are thriving and happy.
Keep in mind that your child’s symptoms may be due to the act of switching formulas rather than the formula itself. I’ve heard changing formulas can constipate babies but that it will go away as they get used to it. I’ve heard that it’s a good idea to mix the formulas together starting out with small amounts of the new one.
Every baby is different and can react differently. My son gets VERY well along with store brand formula and could not tolerate Similac or Enfamil. Just one comment: you mentioned the store brand ones don’t spend money with marketing campaigns etc, which is true. However I need to disagree with you on the packaging comment. PBM (Perrigo) actually has a much more premium package then Enfamil and Similac. A better design, better packaging experience, scoop is always on top so you don’t need to stick your singer inside the powder, scoop leveler, better scoop holder, etc.
Just to point it out, Enfamil has the cans, but also has the kind of rectangular container. The container is refillable (you buy the big boxes with 2 bags inside, it’s quite a bit cheaper in the long-run). Each box has a new scoop in a sealed bag, and the rectangular container has a scoop holder at the top. No digging for the scoop.
Recently, I got a bunch of coupons from Walmart to try their formula. I have to say, I’m tempted. When I get coupons for $15 off a can, $10 and $5 off a can, and they’re a lot cheaper ANYWAY, it’s tempting, very tempting. I may buy at least one or two and put it aside for later. I’m of the opinion that the first 6 months babies are so sensitive to formula changes, whereas once they start solids more that they can handle the changes better. It leaves me wondering how young your son was when you tried the switch. After 4 little ones, I basically use whatever they have the least reaction to, and then switch to something a bit more mainstream at 6 months, then usually cheaper things around 9months, and because I would have extended breastfed (and my kids show signs of being unable to digest cow’s milk until closer to 2…) we use toddler formula or store-brand formula until they seem to digest cow’s milk normally.
Just for a mom reading this. The medical experts recommend starting solids at 4 months for a reason, if you want to try it out, then waiting until that tummy change isn’t a bad idea. By 6 months they’re usually holding onto something and standing (which helps with pooping…), eating solids (also helps with pooping) and have colic USUALLY stop by 5 months, so if they’re colic prone waiting definitely is in your favor. But by 6 months, I can usually try different formulas and they seem to handle it well.
I switched to Walmart brand parents choice gentle and twelve hours later my son had a seizure, He had a total of four seizures. We spent four days in the hospital had a MRI, EEG and blood and urine samples done all results came back negative. Every doctor I asked said the formula had nothing to do with it. Yesterday I switched back to the enfamil and I am eager to see whether it will happen again.
Im eager to know if your babys seizures came back, i wanted to do a switch but after reading this i felt terrified..what was the outcome of your situation
You should really not post a comment like this and then not ever come back and state whether or not your son seized again. You’re insinuating it was due to the formula, which is really unfair if it was not!! Be responsible. And I hope your son is ok, either way.
Seizures have many different causes. I can’t say it definitively, but we would never trust any research with just one patient. If you found patient after patient after patient and many many testimonials online about the formula and seizures then we could form some sort of theory about the causality. I truly hope that you looked into other reasons why your son could have had seizures and didn’t just latch onto one and then move on. Please look into other reasons if you have not already. Something like even occasional seizures can have a negative impact on his quality of life including education. I had a student who we thought was having learning difficulties and it looked like ADHD but after more research etc we found she was having microseizures (daily) and once those were under control everything was positively impacted. Even with my own kids. One has problems in school if his food allergies get out of control (he sneaks the food he is allergic too). Anyway good luck to you and bless you.
PS it would be nice to know how your baby is doing.
thank you for your research.your articles help me to find out what’s good for my baby.keep it up!
We had our baby on similac to start. I wasn’t able to produce enough milk so we really didn’t have a choice. But similac was what the hospital had while she was in the NICU. I liked similac but, the $10 difference can be a big deal when your a one income household for a while. We tried the walmart brand and slowly weaned her over to it basically mixing 3/4 similac to 1/4 walmart for a week then 1/2 and 1/2 then 1/4 similac to 3/4 walmart. The transition was smooth and she did fine on it. She has been on it now for a almost a month and doing great. Sorry to hear your baby had a negative reaction. Every baby is different.
Hello!
Thank you for this wonderful & insightful article/blog. I was actually thinking of Changing over to the generic brand. Your information has made me think otherwise. Thank you for taking the time to write this. I’m glad I came across it. Have a wonderful day!
I just tried the parents choice version of gentlease after my baby’s been on name brand for months. It seems to be better for her strangely. I thought it was the same so I tried it but she’s having more bm’s, which has been a concern, and her insane amount of spit up has slightly reduced. I found your article while trying to figure out what might be the difference!
I’ve been doing more research on store brand formula because it’s hard to afford 26-30 dollars a week for enfamil. My daughter has been on comforts for baby infant formula for about 2 weeks now and hasn’t had any problems. This article is an eye opener and I’m sorry that your son went through that. I honestly didn’t even to think to look at all of the ingredients, I was more concerned about the nutritional value of it compared to enfamil.
I’m glad that it’s working for you. Formula is very expensive, and nobody should have to stress over feeding their baby. Just to be clear, the store brands do have the same nutritional value as brand name formula, it’s just the ingredients that differ slightly (and may be an issue for some babies). Thank you for reading!
“Wasn’t it exactly the same as the more expensive formula?” No it’s not. “That’s what I had been promised!” No you were not. You were promised comparable nutrient content; not the exact same formula for less. The labels on all store brand formulas say “compare to” and most specifically state “Compare to Nutrients/Nutrition of Name Brand Product” Not a single store brand I have come across has read “Compare to the Ingredients of Name Brand Product” Not a single label has read “These ingredients are exactly the same and of the same quantity listed” Not one. When I decided to try a store brand the first thing I did was hold the cans side by side and read the ingredients. I was using Enfamil that made my baby miserable so I decided to try the store brand gentle formula. It worked on my baby’s tummy. One day the store was out of stock so I bought a name brand gentle version; bad idea. My baby had unbearable gas. All babies are different and it does a disservice to your readers to suggest the store brand is simply a bad idea. A store brand may work better than a name brand, as was my child’s case. My nephew on the other hand would spit up constantly on anything but Gerber.
Maybe read more carefully next time. Back in 2008, all the parenting magazines had advertisements that said “The only difference is the price.” Of course it’s not surprising that they changed up their advertising later, so as not to look hypocritical when they sued a big brand for false advertising.
I used PBM nutritional for both my children. Originally they were on Simlac then I tried the Costco brand PBM and they seemed to like it more then the name brand.
Gas was never an issue, so I continued to use it, over time you can save a lot and i was confident i wasn’t doing any harm
same thing happened to us with walmart brand. as soon as we switched the problems started and it didn’t mix well, also color was different and powder seemed to be a different consistancy…. i considered trying target but i’m scared to now.. has anyone had any problems with the generic target brand?
The big store brands are all made by the same company, Perrigo Nutritionals. See here: https://www.perrigo.com/business/formula.aspx
Not only are many of the name brands owned by the same companies, but many of those are owned by the same parent companies. Many companies sell their products but keep the original name etc. You might think you are buying something owned and manufactured exclusively by perrigo but really they just kept the name on the packaging and it is manufactured by someone else. Also remember there are only so many places to manufacture these products so most of them come from the same factories even if they are marketed by different companies.
It could also be something that would never pop up on your radar. I had a client once who ended up switching their brand of milk, because their milk shared a shipping container with peanut oil and it was affecting all of them. My son was sick all the time and we didn’t find out for years that he was allergic to guinea pigs (not hamsters or mice!) and he was born into a house with two of the things. he was sick off and on until they died!
One reason the brand name formulas are more expensive is they are contracted by WIC. They inflate their prices because WIC reimburses them. Only three companies are contracted by WIC and they are all the high priced formula companies.
Good article but very misleading, just like you are accusing the generic formula of being. While i’m sorry you had a terrible experience that doesn’t make generic formula bad. It just means that one was bad for your baby in particular. The reason brand name formula is so expensive has nothing to do with research and everything to do with WIC , politics and greed. Formula companies have lobbyists and political fund money to keep things how they want just like big tobacco. Formula is cheap to make and most of it is made by the same companies and rebranded later. My son needed an extremely expensive one that had to be special ordered till he was 6 months old then (when he was eating real food) his doctor suggested we try generic. I said what about similac? She said “if you want to spend the money buy it , but i recommend generic because there’s nothing better about the expensive ones. ” she is the head of pediatrics for a very large medical group so we’ve been on $13 containers ever since. It did take a few brands to find the good fit, but that’s any formula. Don’t encourage families to go broke because you are misinformed.
You either didn’t read the article, or didn’t understand it.
No, the name brands are not making formula under other labels. Most store brands come from the same manufacturer, though: Perrigo, or whatever they call themselves these days.
My point is that generic brands need to stop marketing their products as the same when they are not. My nephew has a severe nut allergy. My sister bought store brand cooking spray thinking it would be the same as the name brand she usually buys. Good thing she checked the label first, because the store brand listed several kinds of nuts. Same issue I had with the formula—it contained ingredients my son needed to avoid despite being “the same.”
My baby is doing so much better on parent choice.