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While substitutes for breastmilk have existed since time immemorial, infant formula as it is known today is a relatively recent invention. It was first developed in Germany in 1865 and marketed as a medically endorsed product “closest to mother’s milk”(Stevens et al. 2009), becoming popular during the Industrial Revolution given the large number of women who were leaving home to enter the labour market. Infant formula use rose steadily in subsequent decades, peaking during the post-World War II baby boom (Akhter 1994), after which sales began to decline in higher income countries due to lower birth rates and a growing belief in the positive health effects of breastfeeding (Stevens et al. 2009).

Formula producers searching to offset declining sales thus turned to other markets, expanding into the developing world in the 1960s and 70s. For example, Nestlé annual reports from the early 1960s note the firm’s …