Your Questions & Our Answers
Our most frequently asked questions can be found below. Is your question not listed? Please do not hesitate to contact us, we are here to help!
Formula & Preparation
How do I choose which formula is right for my baby?
Finding the right formula can be a challenge. To help find the perfect formula for your little one, start with our Baby Formula Comparison Chart. If your baby is experiencing issues like constipation, gassiness, or spit-up, check out the Specialty Formulas like our Hypoallergenic formulas, Anti Reflux, or Formula for Sensitive Tummies. If you still have questions, please do not hesitate to contact our dedicated customer support. We’re here to help!
How to make a bottle
Please view our full instructions on how to prepare a formula bottle.
Do I have to boil water?
In order to kill harmful bacteria that may be in the water we recommend boiling the water that you will use during formula preparation. Leave the water to cool to the recommended temperature before adding the powder. Please always read the preparation instructions relevant to your specific formula.
Where do I find the preparation instructions?
Please click here for the detailed English preparation instructions of each formula and stage that we sell.
Where do I find the Feeding Chart?
Please click here for the detailed English Feeding & Nutrition Charts of each formula and stage that we sell.
Is a scoop included with the formula?
To ensure correct proportions, every one of our formulas comes with a manufacturer-provided scoop, which can be found directly in the box outside of the silver packaging (for formulas in boxes) or is loose somewhere inside the can (for formulas in tin containers). The Dutch Hipp Formulas have a scoop buried in the top part of the formula. To find it you have to search a little bit which is not ideal, but it’s how the formula is packaged by the manufacturer. The best way to find it is to use a dry, sterilized spoon to dig the scoop out of the formula.
How are your products' Shelf Life / Expiration Dating?
We guarantee that all of our formulas have at least six months before the expiration date. We follow the “first in, first out” model when receiving inventory and sending out products. Due to the high volume of daily orders, we have to re-stock with fresh batches of baby formula multiple times per week. This ensures that our products won’t stay in our warehouse for long and are practically almost shipped in real-time after the manufacturers have produced the formula. The expiration date can be found on the bottom of each can or box. The dates are noted down in European formation, thus day/month/year.
Can I supplement breast milk with your formulas?
Yes, many parents need to supplement breast milk with formula. Whether it is because of lifestyle decisions or medical reasons, it’s very common to supplement breast milk with formula. You can supplement breast milk with all our formula products.
I notice that toddler formula is suggested for infants on some websites. Should I consider this?
We would suggest being very careful with this. As far as our knowledge goes, we haven’t heard of any European manufacturers who would recommend giving toddler formula to an infant. Using toddler formulas for infants is an off-label use of the product. Organic Formula Shop will always recommend buying genuine baby formula products, none of which would recommend giving toddler formula to younger babies.
Which setting should I use on my Baby Brezza machine?
Each of our formulas is suitable for use with the Baby Brezza machines. Unfortunately, we are unable to advise about particular settings for the device, but you can use the Settings Finder on their website to find the exact settings to use for your formula.
KYC (Know Your Customer)
What is KYC documentation?
KYC stands for ‘Know Your Customer’. This documentation is essential when sending packages to India as customs authorities need it to confirm the receiver's identity and address. This applies to both businesses and private individuals.
Is KYC documentation required for international shipments to India?
Yes. All shipments sent to India, need KYC documents (Government recognized Identity and Address proof). These documents will be presented to Customs during shipment clearance.
Do I need to pay duties/customs before receiving my order?
No. The total order amount at check-out includes Express shipping and duties.
Please Note: Any penalties due to missing or delayed KYC documents are on behalf the receiver.
How does the KYC process work?
Before we ship to a new address/receiver in India, the receiver needs to gather their KYC proof and give it to our carrier. The carrier will save the receiver’s details in their KYC database for future shipments to the same address.
What if the receiver’s KYC documents aren’t ready?
Missing KYC documentation will delay your shipment and could also lead to penalty fees. To ensure a smooth process, please submit your KYC as soon as possible after receiving the request by email or TEXT message.
What is the Customs clearance timeline in India?
When a parcel enters India, it goes through either express or formal customs clearance. We ship all our orders via Express Shipping. Express clearance is a streamlined process with minimal paperwork and with all the correct paperwork, you can expect your parcel to be released the same day.
What Is an Air Waybill (AWB)?
An air waybill (AWB) is a document that accompanies goods shipped by an international air courier to provide detailed information about the shipment and allow it to be tracked. The bill has multiple copies so that each party involved in the shipment can document it.
What if the receiver’s KYC documents aren’t provided on time or are incorrect?
Missing KYC documentation not only delays a shipment but can also lead to penalty fees. Please provide the information timely and correctly to ensure a smooth and swiftly shipping process.
Do I have to provide the KYC documentation after every order?
In general, the KYC documentation process is one-time only. Next time you order from us, our carrier should not ask for any further documents.
What is an OTP?
Our carrier will provide you with a One Time Password (OTP) to log in on their website and complete your KYC procedure. The OTP has to be used in combination with your tracking (Air Waybill) number.
Brand Information
HiPP - The Company
Babies need healthy food that tastes great and doesn’t contain unwanted ingredients. Parents know they can rely on HiPP for a product range that is developed to the best principles of nutrition science; meals exactly suited for your baby’s age and the most stringent organic quality checks. read more..
Holle - The Company
The Holle name is backed by almost a century-long tradition of organic goodness. Holle holds itself to a high standard with its Demeter certification and is a market leader in sourcing organic ingredients from biodynamic farms. Read more..
HiPP vs Holle formula's
Once you have decided that only European organic formulas will do, it is time to choose the one that is best for your baby. Read more..
Lebenswert - The Company
Important to know is that Lebenswert is part of the Holle Family. It was introduced about ten years ago to give parents a less costly alternative to organic and high-quality baby formula. Holle is an established and respected manufacturer with almost 90 years of experience in the baby food industry. Their Lebenswert brand is also held to high standards, making their products widely regarded as some of the best formulas.
Lebenswert formula was designed to offer parents a more budget-friendly organic formula. That being said, Lebenswert makes no compromises when it comes to providing your little one with a formula made according to high European organic standards with premium ingredients.
The Bioland certification of all Lebenswert ingredients means that the formula is derived from farms that abide by high standards of farming practices. Bioland certification is a guarantee of purity and strict farming practices meaning:
- Only using untreated seeds
- Using preventive measures to protect plants
- Keeping livestock according to breed and species
- Using natural compost in place of chemical or synthetic agents
- Hormones are prohibited, and antibiotics are only permitted when necessary for animal health
Because the Lebenswert brand avoids peanuts, soy, and wheat ingredients, it’s much less likely to cause allergic reactions than some brands that get ingredients from those sources.
If you’re looking for a pure, organic baby formula that is reasonably priced, our Lebenswert formulas stage 1, 2 and 3 are a great choice!
About Ingredients
Do you have vegetarian-friendly formulas?
From our product range we have two formulas which are certified vegetarian. This is because they do not contain omega-3 or omega 6 fatty acids from fish oil. These are the Holle Goat Stage 1 & Stage 2. Please note that none of our formulas are vegan, since they all contain either organic cow’s milk or organic goat’s milk.
What is DHA?
Since April 2020 DHA is added to the HiPP Formula. Read more…
What is Metafolin and why is it used in HiPP Combiotic?
HiPP Combiotic infant formulas contain folate, an important B vitamin essential for cell division and growth. During your baby's rapid physical development, this nutrient supplies the necessary components to synthesize purine and pyrimidine that provide structure for DNA & RNA molecules. Folate is crucial for cell division and tissue growth; it supports the following:
- DNA synthesis
- Cell division
- Blood formation
- Protein synthesis
This vitamin is, therefore, indispensable for brain development, growth, and blood formation, especially in the early stages of development.
Difference between European-Organic and US-Organic Formulas?
You’ll probably be in for a big (unpleasant) surprise if you read the ingredients in baby formulas available at your local US grocery store. All kinds of substances make their way into a baby formula that shouldn’t ever be there. In the United States, many baby formulas can be considered "organic baby formula." even if they contain highly processed sugars, corn syrup, and synthetic preservatives. This is because Europe's organic certification is far more challenging to obtain than comparable labeled organic certifications in the US. If you have any doubt, try tasting it, and you will immediately smell and taste the difference. That’s why we only offer the world’s best organic infant formulas from Europe for a healthy start in life!
Transitioning Formula
When to switch to baby formula?
To be short: follow your heart. There’s no correct answer here; only you know what’s best for you and your baby. Switch to formula whenever you feel ready, keeping in mind that you can transition slowly and use formula as a supplement to breast milk for as long as you’d like. Please note: Before deciding to bottle-feed, we advise consulting your pediatrician.
When to transition from Stage 1 to Stage 2?
Most parents generally switch from Stage 1 to Stage 2 when their little one is around six months old. It's a rough age guideline, but it means that your baby is ready for more nutrients. The general taste should remain the same, but the formula includes more vitamins and minerals for your baby's higher weight. For example, Stage 2 formulas contain increased levels of omega-3 and iron. However, as long as your baby gets iron and nutrition from other sources like solid foods, you can stay on Pre or Stage 1 for longer. It's always best to consult your pediatrician to find the right balance for you.
Why are there different stages?
As a baby grows and changes, so do their nutritional requirements. Formula manufacturers like Hipp and Holle have spent many years perfecting formulations to ensure every stage of your newborn’s dietary needs is met. To ensure your baby is getting all of the nutrients it needs to grow and thrive, we highly recommend you use the stage of formula that corresponds with his or her age.
The primary difference between our Infant-Formula (stage 1) and Follow-On Formula (stage 2,3,4) is the balance of milk proteins. Both formulas have whey and casein proteins but in different proportions. There is also an increase in iron and filling ingredients such as starch to help wean off of formula and introduce more solid foods in the later stages. Stages marked as PRE should not be confused with Premie or Preterm Birth. PRE milk formulas usually contain no starch, so you can feed more to your baby on a 3-hour schedule.
Shipping
Do you offer free shipping?
Yes. All orders include free Express shipping to India!
Do you ship to India?
Yes, we do! We are an internationally focussed company and ship to many countries globally. All shipments originate in Northern Europe and arrive in 2 to 5 business days.
What are your Express shipping times?
One of the reasons we successfully shipped more than 145.000 orders is the quality
of our service. Your package will typically arrive at your doorstep within 2 to 5 business days. We process orders Monday through
Friday. Orders placed on the weekend will be processed on the first following business day.
Please note that the courier provides delivery dates, which can be subject to change. Please allow extra time if ordering during the busy holiday season to account for more considerable
demands on carriers.
Please note: by purchasing through our website,
you agree that any formula is strictly purchased for personal use only.
Are there limits on how much formula I can purchase?
There are no limits on how much formula you can purchase @ Organic Formula Shop, as long as you are buying for personal use only! After many requests from parents, we re-introduced (as the only reseller) the 24 and 25-packs for your convenience.
Can I cancel my order?
We Dutch like to work fast! So, we pack, process, and ship your order soon after you’ve placed it. If you want to cancel, please contact us as quickly as possible. If the order revoking is possible, we will refund the order amount minus a 10% handling and transaction fee. Depending on your bank, it can take up to 10 business days for the credit to appear on your statement. Cancellation is impossible if the order is already packed and/or picked up from our warehouse by the courier.
What is your Return Policy?
If your baby has an adverse reaction to a formula you’ve purchased from us, we will do everything we can to help you find the right option for your little one. As we guarantee that our product is authentic and comes from authorized manufacturer wholesalers, we cannot take returns, even if they are unopened. We do not restock the formula once it has left our warehouse, which guarantees that the product you receive is authentic and not a counterfeit formula. We kindly advise reading our Shipping and Refund & Refund Policy pages for more details.
Should I expect any customs import fees?
The total order amount at check-out includes Express shipping and duties.
Please Note: Any penalties due to missing or delayed KYC documents are on behalf of the receiver.
What to do when my package has a customs delay?
We’re sorry that customs are delaying your package, and we understand the urgency. Please reach out to our dedicated customer support team, and we will be happy to assist you in trying to locate your package and work with you to sort out a resolution.
Do I have to sign for my package?
We do not require Signature Delivery, but please plan accordingly on how to receive your package in person by checking your tracking number. Check our FAQ for how to manage your Signature Delivery. Organic Formula Shop cannot be held responsible for misdeliveries, packages marked as delivered but not received, or stolen packages after delivery.
How can I request Signature Delivery?
On the couriers’ website (via the tracking link provided), choose ‘manage delivery.’ This option allows you to add ‘delivery instructions’ after you register. Notify the courier here that you want to sign for your package and that it cannot be left at your door unsigned. This secures an in-person delivery. Click on your courier below to manage your Signature Delivery:
DHL
FedEx
UPS
Help! I can't find my package even though it is marked as delivered.
We're sorry to hear you haven't received your package, and we get that delivery issues are the worst! Firstly, please check with other household members, your building management, or your neighbors’ place to see if there was some misdelivery. If you are still unable to locate the package and it's been more than 24 hours after your tracking number states that your order has been delivered, please get in touch with your shipping carrier to file a claim on the package as lost, missing, or stolen. After shipment, the carrier assumes responsibility for the package. Organic Formula Shop is not responsible for packages that were missing or stolen after the shipping carrier tracking confirms it was delivered.
Please note: to be sure you’re the one who’s collecting your future order; we advise scheduling a “Signature Delivery” that requires a signature from you in person for the delivery.
Why is my package delayed?
We’re sorry to hear that!
Every day we work hard to process, pack and ship your order as swiftly as possible. But in the end, we’re highly dependent on the fantastic work that our couriers do day in and day out. Sometimes a package can be slightly delayed due to varying factors, such as fulfillment delays, carriers being overloaded, bad weather, or Indian customs. In 99,9% of these cases, it will be a minor delay, so please be patient, and stay on top of your tracking number. If your package hasn’t moved for more than 72 hours, please reach out to our customer support team, and we’d be happy to help you try to locate your package.
What to do after receiving a damaged or incorrect product?
Please check our Shipping page.
Please note: Do not use the formula in the rare circumstance that the inside silver packaging or the can have been punctured. Please take a picture of the damaged formula and the shipping label and send this to our support team. They will assist you and sort out an appropriate solution.
Can public holidays delay my shipment?
A public holiday can delay your shipment depending on the courier and delivery address.
General Questions
Why order from Organic Formula Shop?
Our mission is to maximize your child’s health by making Premium European Organic Formula easily accessible in India. Getting the best formula for your little one shouldn't be so challenging when you're ready to transition from or supplement breastfeeding. With Organic Formula Shop, it isn’t! Our dedicated team of professionals researched every infant formula available in Europe, spoken to several nutrition experts, taste-tested, and more so that you don't have to. Our Customer Support team are fellow parents and caregivers and are all experts in Infant Nutrition: From Breastfeeding to Solids. Our products have been carefully chosen and sourced from certified distributors in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. We carefully pack each order in our temperature-controlled warehouse and ship it swiftly to your doorstep. We proudly can say we have shipped more than 145.000 orders worldwide!
Why should I buy European Organic formula?
Top European baby formulas, like the brands HiPP and Holle, are widely known to be the highest-quality baby formulas available in the world. These brands use only organic skimmed milk (cow and goat), lactose, and organic whey for carbs sources, not the corn syrup, glucose syrup solids, or sugar you’ll find in most other brands in India. They also contain essential prebiotics and probiotics, non-synthetic nutrients, and more. Furthermore, the grass-fed cows used for the skimmed milk have not received hormone or antibiotic treatments that could be potentially dangerous to your little ones. Our Holle formulas are Demeter-certified Organic. This means the environment is being taken care of as well as the cows - it's like “Next-Level-Organic” ;).
How about your competitive pricing?
At Organic Formula Shop, we strive to offer the best prices for HiPP, Holle, and Lebenswert formulas online. By working as efficiently as possible, we can reduce the overall costs, and in return, we can offer our customers the best prices on the market every day again. The best price can always be found by choosing the large (18, 24, or 25 units) size multipacks.
Are you an environmentally friendly e-tailer?
In our day-to-day business, we work hard for a healthy lifestyle for newborns. They are our future! With that in mind, we’re working our way toward delivering a more sustainable future, including a goal of reducing our operation's carbon footprint as much as possible as quickly as possible. We’re already doing this by:
- Using green electricity at our office and warehouses
- Our team uses bicycles and public transport as much as possible
- We have reduced our business trips by 40% by going even more digital
- We drink (lots) of coffee from our OFS mugs ;). No plastic cups!
- Using green Webhosting for our website
- The Paper and carton boxes we use are from recycled materials
- The couriers we use are all working on reducing their footprint by constantly modernizing their fleet.
Tip: You can do your part by ordering in bulk as much as possible. This reduces
the number of orders we have to ship, AND it saves you money ;)
How do you store and ship the baby formula?
Organic Formula Shop is a Boutique-reseller where our formula buying parents and quality come first. Here are a few examples of how we ensure that the best recipes get safely to you and your little one:
1. All our products are supplied from Northern Europe, where temperatures are relatively cool all year round
2. Our centrally located warehouse is in the Netherlands. Close to the manufacturers and several large international airports
3. Our products will be shipped via Express air freight using the world’s best international couriers. This ensures short transport times from door to door in a temperature-controlled environment.
Breastfeeding or formula?
Breastfeeding is the best nutrition for your baby. The composition of breast milk always offers your baby the ideal combination of nutrients and good protection against allergies and diseases. read more
When does the product expire?
You can usually expect expiration dates 6 to 12 months into the future. We follow the “first in, first out” model when receiving inventory and sending out products, so formula boxes don’t remain in our warehouse for long. Please keep in mind that the European date format is always Day / Month / Year
Is ordering on your website safe?
The safety of our website and ordering process is one of our main priorities!
All our payments are SSL (Secure Socket Layer) secured. The easiest way to understand a Secure Socket Layer is to think of it as a mechanism that lets you safely send data between websites and servers to which they are connected. The data is sent as encrypted information. An SSL certificate guarantees encryption and security.
Do you have a physical store?
To ensure we can offer our products for the most competitive prices on the market we only sell online. This way we can keep our costs and overhead low.
Why is my packaging different from your product page?
We do our best to update our product photos as soon as new designs are released. But due to the high volumes of fresh baby formula in and out of our warehouse, we can't always guarantee the packaging design will exactly match the packshots used on our product page. What we can guarantee is that you will receive the products with the longest expiration dates and the freshest inventory direct from the European manufacturers. We do not accept refund requests due to differences in packaging.
Do you offer a “Formula Satisfaction Guarantee”?
We know that finding the right formula for your little one can be quite a challenge. When you try a new formula, we recommend a transition period of 7 to 14 days to allow your baby’s digestive system to adjust to the new product. If you and your baby are starting with formula, we recommend you begin with a smaller order. Unfortunately, we cannot offer any refunds due to babies not liking the selected formula, including if your baby has a medical reason for not being able to use the formula. We apologize for any inconvenience that this may cause. To ensure that a formula will be compatible with your baby, we recommend you undertake thorough research before making any baby formula purchase. Not sure which formula to choose?
Please check our baby formula comparison chart to help you understand the differences between our offered formulas.
Do you offer discount vouchers?
Occasionally we will release special discount codes directly to our email subscribers and/or on affiliated websites. Because we already offer the most competitive prices on the market we don’t see the use of using additional discount vouchers. We do not work with any voucher code sites, and if you find a voucher code on a site other than ours, you can assume it is a fake code. Make sure to sign up for our newsletter email on our homepage to be the first to learn about new coupon codes!
Do you offer Formula Subscriptions?
We do not offer a formula Subscription. Why? Years of experience have taught us that many parents with newborns often forget to edit or cancel their subscriptions on time. We totally get that because parents are entirely focused on their little ones, who aren’t exactly the quietest bunch when they’re young and hungry ;). Not timely editing or canceling a subscription often caused unpleasant situations for both parties, so we decided to stop offering formula subscriptions and give the best prices anyways.
Subscription or not!