Breastfeeding is universally recognized as the safest and most complete form of infant nutrition, yet for millions of families worldwide it is not always possible. Some mothers struggle with insufficient milk supply or health complications, while others must return to work early and are unable to continue exclusive breastfeeding. In lower-income communities, formula is often unavailable, unaffordable, or mistrusted due to past safety scandals, creating a silent inequality: infants without access to breastfeeding face a greater risk of digestive discomfort, infections, and poor growth. For our team, inclusivity means addressing this gap by developing formulas that are safe, nutritionally advanced, and accessible, bringing infant nutrition closer to the gold standard of breast milk.

Our inclusivity journey began with families. During one of our first outreach activities in an under-resourced community, we met a mother who struggled with insufficient breast milk and had little knowledge about formula. Her preterm infant often cried, suffered from bloating, and gained weight poorly. This encounter deeply impressed upon us that scientific innovation must be built on lived parental experiences. To broaden our understanding, we interviewed six mothers at different feeding stages—some exclusively breastfeeding, others supplementing with formula. Parents still have memories of historical issues regarding the safety of formula. Many emphasized that while nutrition and growth were important, what they most desired was a formula gentle on their baby’s stomach. Digestibility, they explained, mattered more in daily life than advertising promises about higher IQ or stronger bones. One mother even mentioned that when switching from breast milk to formula, she worried that intimacy with her child might be reduced, highlighting how feeding decisions carry not only nutritional but also emotional weight.

These conversations convinced us that inclusivity must be built into the design of our products. Our first formula combines 2’-Fucosyllactose, a key human milk oligosaccharide, with trypsin, an enzyme that helps digest casein. This pairing strengthens immunity while easing the burden on the infant digestive system, bringing formula one step closer to the unique properties of breast milk. As our research deepened, we learned that lactose intolerance is also widespread among infants and can lead to painful bloating and diarrhea. In response, we designed a second formula for lactose-intolerant babies by adding galactosidase, an enzyme that breaks down lactose into simpler sugars. This formulation ensures that babies who cannot tolerate lactose are not excluded from the benefits of improved infant nutrition. By addressing both mainstream and special needs populations—preterm infants, C-section babies with delayed gut microbiome development, and lactose-intolerant children—we have built inclusivity directly into our scientific solution.

We also recognized that inclusivity is not only about what goes into the formula, but also about how it is produced, priced, and distributed. Interviews with factory managers and industry experts revealed that quality control is the single greatest challenge. One executive explained that even a minor technical failure, such as a loose valve screw, had once led to chemical contamination and hundreds of millions of dollars in losses. Trust, we realized, can be destroyed in a moment. A Nestlé finance manager further explained that while raw materials and distribution account for less than a third of costs, marketing alone consumes up to forty percent of net sales. This insight challenged us to ask whether inclusivity might also mean shifting resources from expensive marketing to affordability. Retailers and maternity store staff confirmed that parents often rely on word-of-mouth or online reviews to choose formula, and many even request to see certification documents before making a purchase. They noted that families in large cities tend to focus on nutritional benefits, while those in smaller towns are far more price-sensitive. Inclusivity, therefore, requires not only scientific excellence but also pricing strategies that respect the economic diversity of families.

Throughout our project, we organized our interactions through a stakeholder map that highlighted families, pediatricians, hospitals, and formula companies as high-power, high-interest partners, while NGOs, retailers, and nutrition researchers played more supportive roles. Regulators, lawyers, and supply chain managers were classified as gatekeepers whose influence is high even if their immediate interest is low. This systematic approach ensured that inclusivity was understood across the entire ecosystem, from farm to factory to family. By continuously feeding insights from one group back into the next, we created a feedback loop that allowed us to refine both our science and our outreach in response to real-world needs

Education emerged as another key pillar of inclusivity. Many mothers we spoke with lacked reliable knowledge about formula safety and nutrition, often depending on advice from friends, family, or social media. To address this, we launched science outreach programs designed to explain concepts like HMOs and lactose intolerance in simple, accessible terms. We created materials in both Mandarin and English to reduce language barriers, and partnered with maternity stores and care centers to integrate education into trusted community spaces. Inspired by the example of other iGEM teams who brought synthetic biology into classrooms, we hope to expand our outreach into workshops for parents, maternity staff, and NGOs, ensuring that inclusivity begins not just with the product, but with knowledge and empowerment.

For us, inclusivity in 2-FLuxe has always meant more than adding nutrients to powder. It means designing for the infant who cannot digest casein, for the mother who fears another safety scandal, for the family who cannot afford premium imports, and for the community that has lost trust in the industry. It means making nutrition both advanced and accessible, education both scientific and human, and formula feeding both transparent and trustworthy. By placing families and their diverse realities at the center of our design, we aim to build a solution that truly serves all.