The co-founder of the company that operates a baby food plant in southern Iowa says there is an opportunity for significant growth in production capacity and workforce at the Allerton plant. Ron Belldegrun is CEO of ByHeart, which purchased DairiConcepts’ Allerton plant after using the facility in 2019 while testing its new baby food formula.
“After six years of development, we have launched as the first new infant formula manufacturer in over 15 years,” Belldegrun said in an interview with Radio Iowa.
Baby formula recalls and subsequent shortages in 2022 made it clear that three companies controlled 90% of the market. ByHeart began producing baby formula in March 2022. The Allerton plant was purchased in 2023. “We closed the gap on what we believe is the biggest difference between breast milk and infant formula, which is protein, which is really one of the superfoods of breast milk, very specific proteins that fuel the immune system and the gut and facilitate digestion,” Belldegrun said. “Yet the two most common proteins in breast milk were missing from the infant formula.”
ByHeart uses whole milk from grass-fed cows and other ingredients for the powder, which is currently made in Allerton but bottled and packaged at a factory in Pennsylvania. Belldegrun said ByHeart has invested “a huge amount” in the Allerton plant to make it a “state-of-the-art” baby food factory, and that 100 people are currently employed at the factory.
“We’ve increased the workforce by almost 40%,” Belldegrun said. “Now this facility is one of the few that has come back online since the shortage to support this critically important domestic supply chain.”
ByHeart, which also has factories in Pennsylvania and Oregon, currently produces enough baby formula to feed half a million babies a year. Belldegrun said the company has a “big vision” for what’s next in Allerton.
“We are seeing significant growth in skills, capacity and workforce in Iowa,” Belldegrun said.
ByHeart engineers are currently working on plans to expand the Allerton plant to include packaging and canning. Belldegrun said he has had “productive discussions” with government officials, university researchers, farmers and other ingredient suppliers to create what he describes as an “ecosystem” around the southern Iowa facility.
