THOUSANDS of parents are paying more than they need to for baby milk because of a lack of competition in the market, a government watchdog has warned. At the moment there are two dominant baby formula companies - Danone and Nestle - who make up 85% of all sales. 1 A government watchdog has issued a major update on baby formula Credit: Getty As a result, there is little incentive for these manufacturers to compete to offer the best price, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) warned.
The news comes after the boss of Iceland Richard Walker last year hit out at “exploitation” of new parents and called for action to be taken in the industry. Over the past few years it has become more expensive to manufacture infant formula and these costs have been passed on directly to customers. Parents often choose baby formula for the first time when they are in vulnerable situations such as in hospital straight after birth.
Read more on shopping SHOP TO IT Sainsbury’s makes change to shopping rules & it promises to save customers money CHEERS! Supermarket mulled wine named best in blind test - it’s not Aldi or Lidl Often they make the choice when they do not have access to clear, accurate and impartial information, the watchdog warned. Parents are also often under a lot of pressure to do what is best for their baby. As a result, they can often choose a more expensive product as they assume that a higher price will mean it is better quality.
This is not true as the NHS advises t.
