# Bobbie: Laura Modi. How a Baby Formula Startup Took Market Share From Two Industry Giants

- Show: [How I Built This](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this)
- Published: 2026-08-17
- Length: 1h 19m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2026-08-17-bobbie-laura-modi-how-a-baby-formula-startup-took-market-share-from-two-industry

## Summary

Laura Modi, co-founder of Bobbie, explains how she disrupted the duopoly of Abbott and Mead Johnson in the U.S. infant formula market by launching a European-style, grass-fed formula. She details the company's early struggles, including a crippling FDA shutdown that forced a public apology and a pivot to a companion formula, and the subsequent 18-month regulatory course-correction with contract manufacturer Perigot. Modi also discusses the strategic decision to acquire Nature's One to own manufacturing capacity during the 2022 shortage, and how navigating federal oversight in Washington, D.C., became central to the company's growth and policy advocacy.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2026-08-17-bobbie-laura-modi-how-a-baby-formula-startup-took-market-share-from-two-industry#t=0) Introduction: Laura Modi and Bobbie
- [13:10](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2026-08-17-bobbie-laura-modi-how-a-baby-formula-startup-took-market-share-from-two-industry#t=790) From Airbnb to the Formula Gap
- [49:34](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2026-08-17-bobbie-laura-modi-how-a-baby-formula-startup-took-market-share-from-two-industry#t=2974) The FDA Shutdown and Public Apology
- [1:01:03](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2026-08-17-bobbie-laura-modi-how-a-baby-formula-startup-took-market-share-from-two-industry#t=3663) Building Community and Regulatory Approval
- [1:09:04](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2026-08-17-bobbie-laura-modi-how-a-baby-formula-startup-took-market-share-from-two-industry#t=4144) Launch, Shortage, and Owning Manufacturing
- [1:16:34](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2026-08-17-bobbie-laura-modi-how-a-baby-formula-startup-took-market-share-from-two-industry#t=4594) Navigating Federal Oversight and Future Ambitions

## Topics

- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [Certification & compliance](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/certification-and-compliance)
- [Manufacturing partners & offshoring](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/manufacturing-partners)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Policy, trade & tariffs](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/policy-trade-and-tariffs)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Bobbie (product)
- Abbott (company)
- Mead Johnson (company)
- Enfamil (product)
- Similac (product)
- Perigot (company)
- Nature's One (product)
- Google (company)
- Airbnb (company)
- WIC (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [R&D RADIO: Building a Reliable Formula Brand with Casey Bauer, COO, Bobbie](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2026-08-31-r-d-radio-building-a-reliable-formula-brand-with-casey-bauer-coo-bobbie) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [Founders Feature: Lucy Dana of One Trick Pony](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2025-11-21-founders-feature-lucy-dana-of-one-trick-pony) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [Ep. 8: Build a Food Business with Teeth - Chloe Sorvino, Forbes Magazine](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2020-08-13-ep-8-build-a-food-business-with-teeth-chloe-sorvino-forbes-magazine) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [Founder Feature: Morgan Murdock of Unbothered Foods](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2025-05-02-founder-feature-morgan-murdock-of-unbothered-foods) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [#252 - The Rise of Laurel's Coffee: Whole Foods, Wegmans & 1,800 Target Stores in Two Years](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2026-06-09-252-the-rise-of-laurels-coffee-whole-foods-wegmans-1-800-target-stores-in-two-ye) (The Startup CPG Podcast)

## Citing this page

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