Esther Hallam on the formula aisle that failed her, seven years of building, and the superpower of endurance

Nothing about Esther Hallam’s path to motherhood went according to plan. It took seven years and IVF to get pregnant. Her daughter was breech, so the natural birth she’d planned became a scheduled C-section. And when breastfeeding brought her to tears on the very first night home from the hospital, she found herself in a position she’d never imagined: searching for formula.

What she found made her angry. Every organic formula on the U.S. market was essentially the same product sold under different brand names. There were no whole milk formulas available. So she started buying formula from Germany on the gray market—and spent two years going down a rabbit hole, hoping someone else would solve the problem. When no one did, she did it herself. Seven years later, Nara Organics—an organic, whole milk–based infant formula manufactured in Germany and registered with the FDA—is on the market.

In this episode of the Motherly Podcast, Hallam sits down with Liz Tenety to talk about what drove her to enter the most regulated food category in the country, what she learned about modern parents along the way, and why the formula conversation doesn’t have to be controversial.

Meet the expert

Esther Hallam is the founder and CEO of Nara Organics, an organic whole milk–based infant formula company. After struggling to find a formula she felt good about for her daughter, Hallam spent years in research, development, clinical trials, and FDA registration, and traveled the world to find a manufacturing partner with a seven-decade track record in safety and quality. She also created the Nara Baby tracking app. She is a mother to her daughter, Nara, the company’s namesake.

Liz Tenety: What felt the hardest and most surprising in those early weeks of motherhood?

Esther Hallam: Nothing went to plan. It took me seven years to get pregnant. We did IVF. Two weeks before her due date, she’s breech—so the natural birth I’d planned became a C-section. Then I was planning to breastfeed, and I remember the first night home from the hospital, I’m in tears nursing her. It was so painful, and I continued because I felt like this is what I’m supposed to do. My husband said, do you want me to go to the store and get you formula? Which made me sob even harder. It took a lot of people around me and a lot of time to accept that we needed to introduce formula.

Liz Tenety: What did all of that—nothing going according to plan—teach you?

Esther Hallam: It’s the epitome of what life is. Nothing goes to plan. I try to plan so much of my life, but the joy of being a mom is really just being in the moment. And my worst critic was really myself. At the end of the day, it’s accepting that whatever version of motherhood makes me happy and makes my family happy is the version I want to be.

“My dogs were eating better-for-you dog food. I had more choice in any other category except infant formula.”

Liz Tenety: How did you go from overwhelmed new mom to deciding you were going to start a formula company?

Esther Hallam: Accidentally. I was so mad for two years. I was looking for an organic formula for my daughter, and there wasn’t anything on the U.S. market I felt good giving her. When I researched every organic brand, I learned they were essentially the same formula made by the same company, just a different brand. I felt duped. I ended up buying formula from Germany on the gray market. My dogs were eating better-for-you dog food. I had more choice in any other category except infant formula.I didn’t wake up one day thinking I was going to go into the most regulated food category in the United States. I just wanted to know: is someone else taking care of this? For two years I talked to pediatricians, nutritionists, regulatory professionals. And in 2018, when my daughter was 18 months old, I woke up and realized—wait, can I start this company? Do I have all the pieces? I wrote it down on a piece of paper. A couple months later, I incorporated the business. Momentum is funny. It snowballs.

Liz Tenety: What makes Nara Organics different?

Esther Hallam: I wanted a product without soy or palm oil, with as much milk fat as possible. Nara Organics is a whole milk–based formula—when we developed it, there were no whole milk formulas on the U.S. market. The latest science showed that milk fat has a lot of benefits to babies, and I wondered why we didn’t have that here. We had to submit a dossier to the FDA for special approval. We also include organic prebiotics, DHA, and ARA. We manufacture in Germany because I literally traveled the world to find the best facility—Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, France, Spain, Canada, the U.S., the Netherlands—and picked a partner with a seven-decade track record for safety and quality. We’re an American company with an American team, registered with the FDA, meeting the regulatory requirements of both the U.S. and the EU.

“Your relationship with your baby is incredibly personal, and whatever choice you make, it’s the right choice. Full stop.”

Liz Tenety: What was the hardest part of bringing an infant formula to market?

Esther Hallam: All of it. It took seven years. If I had to pick two: the clinical trial, which is required for any new formulation—it’s costly and takes years to conduct. And finding a manufacturing partner, because there aren’t very many facilities that can carry the quality standards to manufacture infant formula.

Liz Tenety: Formula and breastfeeding can be a loaded topic. What do you want our listeners to know?

Esther Hallam: I don’t know why it’s controversial, to be honest. Your relationship with your baby is incredibly personal, and whatever choice you make, it’s the right choice. Full stop. There’s no wrong way to mother. However you decide to do it, that’s the most perfect way.

Liz Tenety: Your daughter was two when you started this company. What does it mean to her to watch you build it?

Esther Hallam: She’s incredibly proud of me. She asks if she can become the CEO when I die, and I tell her no, she has to apply for the job along with everyone else. I include her in milestone moments—she came to our first manufacturing run, she was at the office for launch day. She’s seen me grind and build this business through the majority of the pre-launch years. It’s really exciting to experience it with her and through her eyes.

“The highs are so high and the lows are so low, and to endure those two polar ends of the emotional spectrum is wild.”

Liz Tenety: What would you say to a mom who might be inspired by your journey?

Esther Hallam: Just do it. Put one foot in front of the other. I can’t tell you where that’s going to get you, but those first steps are going to put you down a path that might surprise you.

Liz Tenety: At Motherly, we believe that motherhood brings out our superpowers. What do you see as yours?

Esther Hallam: My capacity to love and my capacity to endure pain. That’s something I’ve experienced from being a mom and from building a business. The highs are so high and the lows are so low, and to endure those two polar ends of the emotional spectrum is wild.

source https://www.mother.ly/podcasts/the-motherly-podcast/esther-hallam-the-motherly-podcast/