Many of us have been feeling the squeeze with the soaring costs at the grocery store, but one mom was left positively aghast at how high formula prices have gone.
Jenna Chips, who runs a parenting and travel TikTok account (@quenchyouradventure), posted a TikTok of herself at the grocery store looking stunned and confused by the display of baby formula.
“I don’t understand,” Chips said into the camera with wide eyes. “I can’t tell if this is a joke or not…”
Jenna is a first-time mom who is open about sharing many aspects of her parenting journey, from her postpartum body to the parenting misconceptions she had before having a baby.
Her post on the cost of formula went especially viral, racking up 1.4 million views.
In the video, Jenna shows how one can of formula can cost anywhere between $53 and $74.
“I don’t understand how it’s seventy-three dollars,” she says in the video with a gasp.
The commenters on Jenna’s video were clearly feeling her pain.
“If you can’t produce enough/your baby needs special formula, hell, even if it’s just mom’s choice, HEALTH INSURANCE SHOULD PAY FOR THIS. It is practically a prescription because it is necessary for LIFE,” proclaimed one viewer.
“*cries in double mastectomy*,” wrote another.
Many commenters also pointed out that the outrageous cost of formula is even more troubling when you consider how quickly babies go through just one can.
“I have twins and pay $700 a month for 12 cans that last me around 20 days,” reported one parent.
“My son had preemie formula. It’s 32 for a SMALL can. He went through a can EVERY TWO DAYS. We would have died without WIC,” added another.
And just when you thought things couldn’t get dark enough, one reader’s comment summed up just how bad it can be for some parents in America:
“She must live in a nice area because it’s not locked up,” quipped @marcop0lo35.
Why are baby formula prices so high?
Baby formula prices have been rising since the pandemic, when things such as low supplies drove up prices, and a factory-wide contamination further reduced the market and increased prices.
Baby food and formula have had one of the highest inflation rates seen in any category, Spectrum News reported in 2024, and those prices have only continued to rise. One parent on Jenna’s video noted that a can of formula that cost $25 in 2021 now costs $38. “That’s the small can,” she added.
Consumer demand has also contributed, with some companies introducing more specialty formulas that are higher in price. Speciality formulas, which many babies with sensitivities, medical conditions, or allergies need, are always more expensive.
Special needs aside, the category of baby formula in general is hard to regulate because there is no competition for it. Babies have to eat, so parents are forced to pay what prices are on the shelves.
“It’s just crazy,” commented one viewer on Jenna’s video. “People are just trying to feed their babies.”
