Laura Modi is an Irish-American executive and the co-founder and CEO of Bobbie. Before Bobbie, she was director of hospitality at

Airbnb Airbnb, Inc. ( , an abbreviation of its original name, "Air Bed and Breakfast") is an American company operating an online marketplace for short-and-long-term homestays, experiences and services in various countries and regions. It acts as a ...

Early career

Modi began her career at Portwest, a workwear and

personal protective equipment Personal protective equipment (PPE) is protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garments or equipment designed to protect the wearer's body from injury or infection. The hazards addressed by protective equipment include physical, elect ...

business run by her family and founded by her great-grandfather in Ireland.

Bobbie

Modi originally had the idea to found an organic

infant formula Infant formula, also called baby formula, simply formula (American English), formula milk, baby milk, or infant milk (British English), is a manufactured food designed and marketed for feeding to babies and infants under 12 months of age, ...

company in 2016, when she was seeking formula to feed her first child that excluded

palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 36% of global oils produced from o ...

and

corn syrup Corn syrup is a food syrup that is made from the starch of corn/maize and contains varying amounts of sugars: glucose, maltose and higher oligosaccharides, depending on the grade. Corn syrup is used in foods to soften Mouthfeel, texture, add vol ...

from the ingredients. Over the next 18 months, she researched the industry and possible recipes, finding that the last significant

U.S. Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...

update to formula nutritional standards occurred in the 1980s. Modi self-funded the company with funds from savings and consultancy work Modi hired her past Airbnb colleague Sarah Hardy, who joined as co-founder in 2019. 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 Perrigo Company plc () is an American Irish-registered manufacturer of private label over-the-counter pharmaceuticals, and while 70% of Perrigo's net sales are from the U.S. healthcare system, Perrigo is legally headquartered in Ireland for ...

on manufacturing, and relaunched its "European-style" infant formula in compliance with FDA guidelines in January 2021. Bobbie's revenue grew to $100 million by 2023, even though Modi had made the decision to pause new customer registrations for six months during the 2022 United States infant formula shortage. In July 2023, Modi led Bobbie's acquisition of Nature's One, another formula brand, funded in part by a $70 million

funding round A securities offering (or funding round or investment round) is a discrete round of investment, by which a business or other enterprise raises money to fund operations, expansion, a capital (economics), capital project, an acquisition, or some oth ...

raised by Modi. As part of Bobbie's workplace culture, Modi prioritizes providing robust leave and job security to new parents. She also set up Bobbie For Change, the company's advocacy arm.

Recognition

Modi was named one of ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

’s'' Women of the Year for 2025.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Modi, Laura 21st-century American businesspeople 21st-century Irish businesspeople Living people Alumni of Dublin Institute of Technology People educated at The King's Hospital 1985 births