Kendamil to export to US and double capacity
The manufacturer has been in talks with the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to export to the US as part of president Joe Biden’s ‘Operation Fly Formula’ – a scheme to bring non-medicated infant formula into the US from international brands.
Kendamil’s products will be fast-tracked to the US relative to other European brands, owing to its English packaging and ‘fully nutritionally-compliant’ recipe.
Double capacity by 2024
The factory in Kendal is capable of producing about 10m cans of 900g formula per year and today is operating at about 50% of its total capacity. Given exponential demand from the UK, Europe, Asia and now the US, plans are in place to more than double the site's capacity by 2024.
Ross McMahon, chief executive of Kendal Nutricare (pictured, centre), said: “We have received the call for assistance from the FDA and Kendamil stands ready to act. The urgency of the situation and scale of the US opportunity will justify Kendal Nutricare doubling our capacity for Kendamil by 2024, increasing British dairy exports from Cumbria, creating more local jobs and providing long-term security for British dairy farmers.
Supporting the UK and US
“The relationship between the UK and USA is very strong and we look forward to bringing the highest-quality formula to US parents, while supporting British jobs, local farming and organic dairy.”
Kendal Nutricare expects to ship 100 trucks to the USA over the next six months, however management have made clear it would continue to prioritise its core markets and existing customers and do not expect any impact on its existing markets.
The manufacturer expects to meet the needs of at least 150,000 US households during the import period.
