Kendamil, the infant formula brand created by family-owned British business Kendal Nutricare, has been named a finalist for The Gerald Edelman Family Business of the Year Award at the Lloyds British Business Excellence Awards 2026.
The Cumbrian company is the UK’s only manufacturer of infant formula and describes Kendamil as one of the UK’s fastest-growing infant formula brands.
Built on family values and a commitment to doing things differently, the business combines British farming, carefully selected ingredients and nutritional expertise to produce premium infant formula from its manufacturing base in the Lake District. Kendamil products are now sold in more than 45 countries, according to the company, with growth continuing across domestic and international markets. Winners of the UK’s largest business awards programme will be announced at Grosvenor House in London on 10 November 2026, and the shortlist is published on the awards category page.
Backing British farming and manufacturing
As a family business, Kendal Nutricare says it takes a long-term approach to growth, reinvesting in its people, manufacturing capabilities and supply chain. It works in partnership with UK dairy farmers, including more than 35 organic family farms, helping to support rural communities while maintaining a secure supply of high-quality milk. Continued investment in its facilities is expanding production capacity to meet growing global demand, creating skilled jobs and, in the company’s words, strengthening the UK’s infant nutrition industry.
The published company history on the Kendal Nutricare website records that its factory was built in Kendal in 1962 and that Kendal Nutricare acquired the site from HJ Heinz in June 2015, giving the family firm a manufacturing heritage of more than 60 years in infant milk.
A whole milk recipe without compromise
What sets Kendamil apart, the business says, is its unique whole milk recipe and uncompromising approach to quality. Unlike many competitors, its recipes contain no palm oil or fish oil, an approach the company frames as carefully selected ingredients without unnecessary compromises. Combined with British manufacturing, transparency and continuous innovation, this has built exceptional consumer trust and driven significant growth across retail and international markets, according to the business. The full range is set out on the Kendamil website.
Recognition at home and abroad
Over the last 18 months the company reports continued investment in manufacturing capability, the launch of innovative new products, stronger relationships with UK dairy farmers and expansion into new international markets, alongside multiple industry awards recognising product quality and innovation.
Public recognition has followed a similar path. The company’s published timeline notes a Queen’s Award for Enterprise in 2020, shipments of formula to the United States from May 2022 in response to Operation Fly Formula during the American formula shortage, and the appointment of co-founder Ross McMahon as MBE in January 2024 for services to the local community and international trade. The business says its continued investment supports British agriculture, delivers exceptional products and creates sustainable long-term value for families.
