Kendamil is foamy because it’s made with whole milk and skips the palm oil-derived ingredients that other formulas use to suppress bubbles. This isn’t a defect or a sign something is wrong with the powder. It’s a direct consequence of the recipe.
What Makes Kendamil Foamier Than Other Formulas
Most infant formulas use powdered skimmed milk, vegetable oils, and emulsifiers like soy lecithin to create a smooth, low-foam mixture. Soy lecithin in particular is highly effective at preventing bubbles. At concentrations above 0.14%, it dramatically reduces foam volume and speeds up bubble disappearance by competing with milk proteins at the surface where air and liquid meet.
Kendamil takes a different approach. Its base is fresh liquid whole milk rather than powdered skimmed milk, which means a higher fat and protein content in the mix. Those milk proteins naturally stabilize air bubbles when you shake the bottle, creating a persistent froth. On top of that, Kendamil doesn’t use palm oil, and the emulsifiers and foam inhibitors found in most formulas are typically derived from palm oil. So the two main tools other brands use to keep foam down, soy lecithin and palm oil-based additives, are both absent from Kendamil’s recipe.
The result is a formula that froths up noticeably more when shaken. It’s the same reason whole milk foams more than skim milk when you froth it for coffee.
Does the Foam Cause Gas?
This is the real concern for most parents searching this question. When formula is full of tiny bubbles, your baby swallows more air with each feeding. That extra air can contribute to gas, discomfort, and fussiness. It doesn’t guarantee your baby will have problems, but it does increase the odds compared to feeding a fully settled bottle.
The fix isn’t switching formulas if Kendamil is otherwise working well for your baby. It’s adjusting how you prepare and serve it.
How to Reduce Foam When Mixing
The biggest factor is how aggressively you mix. Vigorous shaking introduces the most air. Here are practical alternatives that keep foam to a minimum:
- Swirl instead of shake. Hold the bottle at an angle and rotate it in a circular motion. This dissolves the powder more slowly but creates far fewer bubbles.
- Use a fork or clean spoon. Stirring the powder into the water generates less air than shaking a capped bottle.
- Let it settle before feeding. If you do shake the bottle, set it down and wait for the foam to dissipate. Kendamil says you have up to two hours after preparation to use the bottle, so there’s no rush. Five to ten minutes of resting typically clears most of the froth.
- Watch your water temperature. Water that’s too hot (above about 158°F or 70°C when it contacts the powder) can cause clumping, which means you’ll need to shake harder to dissolve everything, creating more foam. Water that’s too cool won’t dissolve the powder well either. Aim for water around 165°F in the bottle before adding powder, which lands near the right range once the powder brings the temperature down slightly.
The Ready-to-Feed Option
If foam is a persistent issue and your baby seems genuinely bothered by gas, Kendamil’s ready-to-feed liquid version sidesteps the problem entirely. Because it’s pre-mixed at the factory under controlled conditions, there’s no powder dissolution step and no need to shake. You pour it into a bottle and serve. It costs more per feeding, but it eliminates the foam variable completely.
Why Kendamil Doesn’t Just Add an Anti-Foaming Agent
Kendamil markets itself on what it leaves out: no palm oil, no soy oil, no fish oil derived from non-sustainable sources. The foam inhibitors used across the formula industry are largely palm oil derivatives, and adding soy lecithin would mean introducing soy into a product that currently avoids it. For parents who chose Kendamil specifically because of its ingredient philosophy, the foam is essentially a trade-off they’re opting into. The formula works as designed. It just requires a slightly different preparation routine than what you might be used to with other brands.