MIT-based biotechnology company Harmony Baby Nutrition has secured $5.9 million USD (31.9 million Brazilian reais) from the joint FINEP-BNDES innovation fund, one of Brazil’s foremost partnerships promoting the country’s entrepreneurial ecosystem under the 2024 Nova Indústria Brasil policy.
With the funds, the startup is planning to create a new research and development center in the eastern city of Belo Horizonte, focused on developing a wide range of infant formulas- from everyday products to Harmony’s humanized solutions.
Nova Indústria Brasil was introduced in January 2024 as a way to “stimulate productive and technological development, expand the competitiveness of Brazilian industry, guide investment, promote better jobs, and boost the country’s qualified presence in the international market,” according to the Brazilian government.
The policy has allocated 3 billion reais ($555 million USD) to strengthen the nation’s domestic innovation capacity. Through it, the country selectively supports companies deemed capable of building large-scale research and development (R&D) infrastructure in Brazil.
As a method of reversing the country’s premature deindustrialization, Nova Indústria Brasil has called for coordinating a wide range of state instruments- including credit lines, non-refundable resources, regulatory and intellectual property actions, and public works policy- with incentives for the productive sector.
The selection of Harmony recognizes the company’s scientific leadership and global potential, as well as its capacity to become a key player in Brazil’s technological and industrial future.
Harmony developed the first human breastmilk-based infant formula on the market. Its mission of transforming infant nutrition with a human-inspired hypoallergenic formula is now crossing international borders, as it will now use its Brazilian development center to accelerate the development of biologically-aligned infant formula- that are hypoallergenic, too.
“There is currently no domestic infant formula industry in Brazil; the market has been dominated for decades by large multinational companies,” said Wendel Afonso, Founder and CEO at Harmony.
“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,” he added.
Afonso himself is native to the State of Minas Gerais, where Belo Horizonte is located, and holds a Pharmacy degree and a Master’s in Food Science and Technology from the Federal University of Minas Gerais. It was here when he began researching protein hydrolysates for clinical nutrition.
The founder was inspired to innovate when he turned to instant formula after his second child showed an allergy to cow’s milk. Harmony’s first product, Melodi, is a specialized toddler formula that has demonstrated 61% higher sensory preference compared to standard hypoallergenic products.
One in six babies experience allergic reactions to cow’s milk based formulas, but available hypoallergenic options often have unpleasant tastes that children reject. Unlike traditional formulas- which also rely on added sugars and industrial cow’s milk derived ingredients- Harmony eliminates all unnecessary ingredients. Melodi, in fact, has no corn serum, table sugar or maltodextrin.
Beyond this, dairy cows and their manure produce substantial amounts of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, and contribute to the conversion of a natural habitat to agricultural land due to the increasing demand for feed crops such as corn, alfalfa, and soy, as per the World Wildlife Organization. Brazil has the third-largest milk production in the world, and Minas Gerais is the largest producing state.
Harmony’s dairy-free innovation aims to dramatically cut emissions, while also improving user satisfaction and boosting the Brazilian productive sector. The startup expects to commence the implementation of its new innovation center in the first semester of 2026, with an expansion encompassing 250 square meters including laboratories and a state-of-the-art application plant.
The initiative foresees the recruitment of 25 professionals- of which at least five will be scientists- who will contribute across scientific, technical, administrative, and operational domains.
Research activities, on the other hand, will focus on the development and performance assessment of novel formulations tailored to diverse needs, as well as the investigation of bioactive ingredient properties.
Harmony is now also raising a community round on Wefunder as a way to engage more stakeholders in participating towards a redefinition of early-life nutrition through science and sustainability.
Image source: Del Afonso via LinkedIn
Disclosure: This article mentions a client of an Espacio portfolio company.
