Among the most popular formula options on the market, HiPP Dutch is designed to offer premium nutrition. This cow's milk-based formula is enriched with all the essential nutrients your little one needs to thrive and contains advanced ingredients like probiotics and prebiotics for additional support. It can be used from birth, beginning with HiPP Dutch 1 and continuing up to HiPP Dutch 4, which offers added nutritional assurance during toddlerhood.
Let's explore its benefits, important ingredients, and how it differs from other HiPP baby formula variations, such as HiPP Dutch vs German and HiPP UK, to learn more about what HiPP Dutch formula can offer your baby!
HiPP Dutch organic formula is available in several stages, with the first step for newborns being HiPP Dutch organic formula Stage 1. Each stage has been carefully crafted to meet your baby's nutritional requirements at different developmental stages.
HiPP Dutch Stage 1 formula up to Stage 3 is certified organic. Stage 4 and all Stages of HiPP Dutch HA, while not organic, are non-GMO and do not contain harmful ingredients like added sugars or artificial additives. So, regardless of which HiPP Dutch formula you choose, you can be sure your baby is receiving clean, high-quality nutrition!
Do not hesitate to consult a medical professional when transitioning to a new baby formula stage, as there are minor ingredient differences between HiPP Dutch Stage 1 vs Stage 2, for example. Your healthcare provider will offer the guidance needed to ensure your child's healthy growth and development. Let's discover more about these stages next.
HiPP Dutch formula Stage 1 delivers a sole or supplemental source of nutrition to infants from birth to 6 months. HiPP Dutch Stage 1 ingredients are thoughtfully chosen to be gentle on the tummy. For example, HiPP Dutch Stage 1 Combiotic infant milk formula is enriched with prebiotics and probiotics to mimic breast milk more closely, aid smoother digestion, and support infant immunity. HiPP Dutch Stage 1 infant formula offers a balanced combination of proteins, healthy fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals that support your newborn's healthy growth and development.
Follow-on milk HiPP Dutch Combiotic Stage 2 is tailored to satisfy the unique nutritional needs of babies from 6 months who have started to eat solid foods. HiPP Dutch 2 formula features increased iron levels necessary to support your child's neurological development because natural iron levels begin to deplete around 6 months of age. HiPP Dutch formula Stage 2 can help you maintain a balanced, nutrient-rich diet for your baby while they are exploring new foods!
HiPP Dutch Stage 3 is a follow-on formula designed to support the needs of growing babies while they become more reliant on solid foods as a source of nutrition. This HiPP Dutch stage is ideal for babies ages 10 months and up. Enriched with increased levels of vitamin D and calcium, HiPP Dutch Stage 3 supports healthy bones and teeth and immunity. HiPP Dutch 3 is also enriched with iron to support your baby's cognitive development.
Unlike some other brands with a more limited stage range, HiPP Dutch Stage 4 is available. It's suited for toddlers ages 24 months and up. This HiPP Dutch toddler formula can serve as an extra boost while your child is reaching new developmental milestones.
For babies with a family history of allergies and who struggle to tolerate traditional cow's milk formula with intact proteins, HiPP Dutch formula is also offered in a hypoallergenic version. The key difference is that instead of using regular skim milk, it's made with a base of extensively hydrolyzed skim cow's milk in which the proteins are broken down into smaller, more digestible fragments that are less likely to trigger an allergic reaction in sensitive babies. HiPP HA comes in stages 1 and 2.
Moreover, these formulas are not organic due to the special processing of the milk, but they are free of GMOs and artificial ingredients. HiPP HA is not suitable for babies with lactose intolerance and may not work for babies with cow's milk protein allergy (CMPA). It's important to contact your healthcare provider to asses whether this special formula is suitable for your baby's unique needs.
While breast milk is the perfect supply of nutrients, HiPP Dutch formula uses human milk as the inspiration for its nourishing formulations going as far as including probiotic cultures originally extracted from breast milk. Let's take a closer look at the main nutrients HiPP Dutch baby formula contains and how they support your baby:
Prebiotics (GOS)
Prebiotics are special fibers that feed healthy bacteria in our gut. HiPP Dutch formula is enriched with prebiotic galactooligosaccharides (GOS) derived from lactose, which have been proven to help support your baby's gut health and aid digestion. GOS are also recognized for their ability to strengthen the immune system, which reduces the risk of infections in infants.
Probiotics (Lactic Acid Cultures)
Probiotics are beneficial microorganisms that contribute to our overall health. One of the unique things about HiPP Dutch formula is that it contains probiotics naturally found in breast milk! This helps make this organic baby formula an even closer match to human milk.
The main role of these probiotics is to ensure smoother digestion, which is particularly beneficial during the earliest stages of life when your baby's digestive system is still developing. Additionally, probiotics can positively affect the gut microbiome, thus strengthening the immune system as a result.
Valuable Fatty Acids
HiPP Dutch organic formula contains Omega-3 (DHA) and Omega-6 (ARA) fatty acids. Together, DHA and ARA are crucial for healthy brain and eye development.
Calcium
Calcium is crucial for helping your baby's bones grow strong and healthy. That's why HiPP Dutch is calcium-fortified, with levels of this mineral increasing at every stage to follow your child's development and growth needs.
Iron
The crucial role of iron during infancy cannot be understated. This mineral is responsible for carrying oxygen to the muscles and brain, supporting your baby's cognitive development and blood formation. HiPP Dutch formula contains adapted amounts of iron to meet your baby's needs as they continue to grow, protecting against iron deficiency.
Protein
HiPP Dutch is based on skimmed cow's milk that contains both whey and casein as protein sources. Both are important for your baby's adequate growth. HiPP ensures that the whey-to-casein ratio is adjusted to imitate the natural changes occurring in human milk over the course of nursing so that your baby receives the perfect balance of gentle and filling proteins across development.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D, also known as the sunshine vitamin, is needed to support bone and teeth health and strengthen your baby's immune system. HiPP Dutch contains vitamin D in every formula stage, and the amount progressively increases to ensure your baby gets enough as they grow.
HiPP Dutch formula is made using natural, clean ingredients, meaning there are no artificial preservatives, flavors, or colors. Additionally, HiPP Dutch Stages 1 to 3 are certified organic by the European Union (EU) and hold the strict HiPP organic seal, signifying that these products surpass the already stringent standards laid down for organic products by the EU.
European manufacturers can only use the organic label if at least 95% of the ingredients are organic. The brand must also indicate where the farm is located, which helps the EU control the quality of the formula ingredients even more (this is different from the USDA's organic label, which isn't required to indicate where the formula comes from). Currently, about 8% of farmlands in the European Union are in organic production, compared to 1% in the US.
The main ingredients in HiPP Dutch baby formula are organic skimmed milk, whey protein, organic vegetable oils, vitamin E, niacin, vitamin A, vitamin B1, calcium, vitamin K, vitamin D, and vitamin B12. The only carbohydrate the brand uses is lactose, which is also the main source of energy found in breast milk and is well tolerated by most babies.
Other ingredients include organic galactooligosaccharide prebiotics, fish oil as a source of DHA, mortierella Alpina oil to supply ARA, lactic acid culture probiotics, and a host of vitamins and minerals vital to infant health, such as sodium citrate, L-phenylalanine, calcium salts of orthophosphoric acid, magnesium sulfate, L-tryptophan, zinc sulfate, iron sulfate, lactic acid, manganese sulfate, and copper sulfate.
Different European countries have slightly different infant formula requirements, so HiPP adapts their recipes to meet them. Although the differences in composition between HiPP formula versions aren't drastic, some parents may prefer one version over another. To help you make an informed choice, we will cover these differences now.
Carbohydrates - While all versions of HiPP formula are based on lactose, some of them use additional sources of energy. All stages of HiPP Dutch and UK contain lactose only, while HiPP German also uses starch in some stages of their formula. Starch is used to offer more satiating energy to babies and toddlers. It may also help improve the formula texture, making it seem more appealing to some babies. Moreover, HiPP Comfort German is lactose-reduced, and thus, it contains maltodextrin and starch to meet babies' carbohydrate needs.
Pro- and Prebiotics - While HiPP Dutch and German include both of these ingredients HiPP UK contains only prebiotics. Nonetheless, even with only prebiotics, HiPP UK can still help support your baby's digestive health.
Whey Protein - HiPP omits whey protein in some of its stages for older babies and toddlers (Stage 3 and 4 in HiPP Dutch, Stage 3 in HiPP UK, and Stage 1+ and 2+ in HiPP German). The amount of whey naturally reduces in breast milk over the course of lactation, so HiPP tries to mimic that process.
Vitamin B9 (Metafolin or Folic Acid) - All HiPP versions contain vitamin B9; however, this ingredient is sourced differently in different country versions. While Dutch and German formulas use Metafolin as a source of folate (which is more easily absorbed), the UK version contains a more common folic acid.
Packaging - HiPP German and UK come in recyclable cardboard boxes, while HiPP Dutch comes in metal cans. Each box of HiPP German holds 400g of formula powder, each can of HiPP Dutch holds 800g, and HiPP UK comes in 800g or 600g boxes, depending on the stage. This is a minor detail, but some parents prefer metal cans as they are less likely to get damaged during transportation or storage.
Regardless of the differences between the country versions, HiPP formula is produced under the strictest standards and aims to offer your baby the best, most nutritionally complete product!
