<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><ns2:project xmlns:ns1="http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk/gtr/api" xmlns:ns2="http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk/gtr/api/project" xmlns:ns3="http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk/gtr/api/fund" xmlns:ns4="http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk/gtr/api/person" xmlns:ns5="http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk/gtr/api/project/outcome" xmlns:ns6="http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk/gtr/api/organisation" ns1:created="2026-06-03T15:52:43Z" ns1:href="http://gtr.ukri.org/gtr/api/projects/A43074AF-1AFD-401D-BA70-2103FC6CF477" ns1:id="A43074AF-1AFD-401D-BA70-2103FC6CF477"><ns1:links><ns1:link ns1:href="http://gtr.ukri.org/gtr/api/persons/83A5A1D0-1C83-4552-BB1B-7BB1BAA83E51" ns1:rel="PM_PER"/><ns1:link ns1:href="http://gtr.ukri.org/gtr/api/organisations/CAE4ACD4-0464-4158-9AA6-81E6190323BD" ns1:rel="LEAD_ORG"/><ns1:link ns1:href="http://gtr.ukri.org/gtr/api/organisations/CAE4ACD4-0464-4158-9AA6-81E6190323BD" ns1:rel="PARTICIPANT_ORG"/><ns1:link ns1:end="2023-03-30T23:00:00Z" ns1:href="http://gtr.ukri.org/gtr/api/funds/5ABBD1DE-2FF4-4EEE-BFFB-24718EF08166" ns1:rel="FUND" ns1:start="2022-03-31T23:00:00Z"/></ns1:links><ns2:identifiers><ns2:identifier ns2:type="RCUK">10024699</ns2:identifier></ns2:identifiers><ns2:title>Fortified plant-based growing up drink</ns2:title><ns2:status>Closed</ns2:status><ns2:grantCategory>Collaborative R&amp;D</ns2:grantCategory><ns2:leadFunder>Innovate UK</ns2:leadFunder><ns2:abstractText>I'm Amy, I'm a teacher, mum of two and co-founder of Plant Powered Babies. I live in Hampshire.

Our products are a range plant-based 'growing-up' drinks for toddlers aged 12 months - 3 years. They are born from a personal story (my daughter Iris had numerous allergies including milk, egg, oats, nuts and sesame as a baby), and have been developed especially for children with allergies. Importantly, they are suitable for young children who are being raised vegan.

10% of children in the UK have two or more allergies. The rate of hospital admissions is highest in those aged 0-4, with cow's milk being the most common food allergy in children.

The number of vegans in the UK has increased by 445,428 people (40%) over the past 12 months (2021) and is only set to continue to increase.

Our products provide an alternative to dairy toddler growing-up milks and are fortified with vitamins and minerals, eliminating the need for separate multi-vitamins. They use hydrolysed pea-protein roquette which is more sustainable than dairy or soya-based formulas. We aim to radically disrupt the market for 'growing up' milk formulas and introduce an accessible choice for parents of immuno-compromised and plant-based children, where there is currently very little.

Both vegan diets and food allergy can be extremely challenging and pose risks of nutritional deficiencies, particularly during childhood. There is both a clinical and market need for an affordable, safe and nutritious food product which delivers supportive complimentary nutrition for young children to reduce dietary deficiency risks.

Our products have been through focus groups but now we require a further round of product development and testing to validate them before we can seek investment and commercialise.

We are also solving a wider societal need -- alleviating stress for parents who are desperate to find a milk alternative their child can drink. We're making the products that I wish Iris could have had when she was little.</ns2:abstractText></ns2:project>