Boston-based Harmony Baby Nutrition, the startup which developed the first human breastmilk-based infant formula on the market, announced it secured $5.9 million USD from the FINEP-BNDES innovation fund in Brazil.
FINEP-BNDES is one of Brazil’s flagship innovation funding programs- created under the national Nova Indústria Brasil policy– and has chosen to support Harmony in creating a new research and development (R&D) in the eastern city of Belo Horizonte, where Harmony founder and CEO Wendel Afonso is from.
“There is currently no domestic infant formula industry in Brazil; the market has been dominated for decades by large multinational companies,” said Afonso.
In fact, researchers noted in 2024 that despite Brazil having some of the world’s strongest breastfeeding laws, the country still faces growing sales in the commercial milk formula industry- riddled with products that have been found to increase chances of developing childhood obesity.
Giants Nestle and Danone collectively control 90% of the Brazilian market, and have engaged in intense lobbying efforts to further their operations. The World Health Organization, on the other hand, has noted that formula milk marketing drives over-consumption, undermines mothers’ confidence, and “exploits parents’ instinct to do the best for their children.”
Image courtesy of Harmony Baby Nutrition
Afonso, however, understood the needs of new parents when he found that his second child was allergic to cow’s milk- which many traditional formulas use as a proteic base. Harmony’s first product, Melodi, is a specialized toddler formula that uses lactose as its carbohydrate source, and includes human milk oligosaccharides- the sugars found in breast milk-, vitamins, minerals, nucleotides, an oil blend and fatty acids that replicate the composition of human milk.
The new R&D center goes beyond supporting the founder’s hometown, however. The baby milk and infant formula market is facing increased demand in Brazil, driven by more women entering the workforce, and an increased consumer emphasis for organic and natural baby formula options, as per Statista.
“This funding allows us to establish a world-class research and production ecosystem right here in Belo Horizonte. In doing so, we are also positioning Brazil as a global leader in humanized infant formula innovation. We’re honored that Harmony has been chosen as a company capable of shaping the country’s technological future,” Afonso continued.
Brazil will now be the home to Harmony’s hub for research in advanced infant nutrition through a multidisciplinary approach combining expertise in food science, biotechnology, and clinical nutrition. In Belo Horizonte, the startup will accelerate the development of human milk-inspired formulas, designed to be cleaner and more biologically aligned with breastmilk- including hypoallergenic formulas for babies with allergies and sensitivities.
Harmony expects to launch the implementation of its new R&D center in the first half of 2026, and it is projected to dynamize the local economy, too; the expansion encompasses 250 square meters- including advanced laboratories equipped with high-precision technologies- and foresees the recruitment of 25 professionals. At least five of them will be scientists holding master’s or doctoral degrees with expertise in infant nutrition, who will oversee scientific, technical, administrative, and operational tasks.
With the new center, Harmony will be focused on developing and assessing novel formulations tailored to diverse clinical and nutritional needs, as well as researching bioactive ingredient properties- with the ultimate goal of achieving a higher degree of compositional and functional similarity to human milk.
The company is also now raising a community round on Wefunder to engage more stakeholders in the process of redefining early-life nutrition.
Featured image: Courtesy of Harmony Baby Nutrition
Disclosure: This article mentions a client of an Espacio portfolio company.
