Laura Modi | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1985or1986(age 39) [1] Westport, Ireland |
| Occupation | CEO of Bobbie |
Laura Modi is an Irish-American executive and the co-founder and CEO of Bobbie. Before Bobbie, she was director of hospitality at Airbnb.
Modi began her career at Portwest, a workwear and personal protective equipment business run by her family and founded by her great-grandfather in Ireland. [2]
Modi originally had the idea to found an organic infant formula company in 2016, when she was seeking formula to feed her first child [3] that excluded palm oil and corn syrup from the ingredients. [4] Over the next 18 months, she researched the industry and possible recipes, [5] finding that the last significant U.S. Food and Drug Administration update to formula nutritional standards occurred in the 1980s. [4] [6] Modi self-funded the company with funds from savings and consultancy work [7] Modi hired her past Airbnb colleague Sarah Hardy, who joined as co-founder in 2019. [1]
In May 2019, an early pilot of Bobbie's formula led to a FDA inspection and a recall due to noncompliant labeling. Modi updated Bobbie's supply chain, partnering with Perrigo on manufacturing, [2] and relaunched its "European-style" infant formula in compliance with FDA guidelines in January 2021. [8] Bobbie's revenue grew to $100 million by 2023, [9] even though Modi had made the decision to pause new customer registrations for six months during the 2022 United States infant formula shortage. [5] In July 2023, Modi led Bobbie's acquisition of Nature's One, another formula brand, funded in part by a $70 million funding round raised by Modi. [9]
As part of Bobbie's workplace culture, Modi prioritizes providing robust leave and job security to new parents. [1] [10] She also set up Bobbie For Change, [1] the company's advocacy arm. [11]
Modi was named one of Time’s Women of the Year for 2025. [12]