Store Brand Formula Wins a Round in Court

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of storebrandformula.com for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Before my son was born, I knew that I was going to breastfeed. It was best for the baby, and it would be the most natural thing to do. My mom breastfeed all three of her babies, and she was very encouraging. She told me that breastfeeding is very natural and there shouldn't be any problems with it. So, I prepared. We took classes the hospital offered and read everything I could get my hands on. I was ready.

What I didn't know is that I was wrong... and so was my mom. Breastfeeding does not come naturally and easily for everyone. And guess what. I was one of those people. I immediately tried breastfeeding, but my son wouldn't take to it. I did not give up. But we faced another problem. Within several hours of his birth my son was sent to the Special Care Nursery at our hospital. He was sick, and they needed to make him better.  

To keep this a little shorter I'll sum up. I did everything I could to nurse him as much as I could. But with him being away from me in the SC Nursery for a week did not give us a good start to breastfeeding. My supply never came in good. After my son came home he slowly lost weight, because he was not getting enough from me. We eventually had no choice but to introduce a bottle (which he had already taken some while in the hospital). And that made it that much harder for me. I tried for quite a while, I really did, but ultimately my body did not make what my baby needed.

We had to use formula. I feel confident that I did give it a good try. And I learned so much and know what I could do to make it better the next time. I've also been able to help my breastfeeding sister get a good start when her son was born, and it was awesome to be a support to her.

But if you've used formula for any period of time, you know that it gets really expensive quick. For quite a while we used the name brand formula that the hospital sent us home with. After about 6 months of buying the pricey expensive stuff, I started looking for alternatives. I did a little research and started buying store brand formula. Everything about it compared exactly to the name brands, and I could save a lot of money. So that's why I made the switch. And I have to tell you, I have a happy, healthy, and very smart 5 year old.

Recently there was a court battle between PBM Products, Perrigo's store brand infant formula business, and Enfamil maker Mead Johnson. Claims were made that Enfamil's formula was better store brand. And the store brand fought that they provided the same nutrients as Enfamil. It was a huge victory for the store brand formula when a US Circuit Court upheld the $13.5 million false advertising claim.

Here is what was said: "As the litigation history of the parties demonstrates, despite having twice restrained from disseminating misleading advertising, Mead Johnson continued to do so," Circuit Judge Andre Davis wrote. "PBM cannot fairly compete with Mead Johnson unless and until Mead Johnson stops infecting the marketplace with misleading advertising."

"The Court has made it clear that national brand and store brand suppliers are entitled to fairly compete and advertising abuses will not be tolerated," said Perrigo Chairman and CEO Joseph C. Papa in a statement. "We also appreciate the Court's recognition that PBM could lawfully compare its products to national brand products."

So there you have it. When they had to prove in court that store brands are just as good as name brands, they were able. You can read this for more information about this case. And if you want to know more about store brands visit storebrandformula.com. I don't think anyone can deny that breast is best, but when that doesn't work out (even after so much trying to make it work) there are options.