Baby and kids nutrition brand Odi has officially entered the Australian market, placing nutrient density and wholefood nutrition at the centre of its expansion strategy. The New Zealand brand made its first major consumer-facing appearance in Australia at the One Fine Baby & Pregnancy Expo in Brisbane on 29 and 30 August.
Held at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, the two-day event provided Odi with an opportunity to showcase its Australian product range to parents as part of its official market launch. Odi founder and clinical nutritionist Gina Urlich also participated in the event’s speaker programme, where she discussed the importance of nutrition during the first 1,000 days of a child’s life.
According to Urlich, the period from conception through to a child’s second birthday represents a critical window for growth and development, with nutrition playing an important role in building the foundations of key body systems.
“The first 1,000 days, from conception through to a child’s second birthday, are one of the most influential windows of growth and development across an entire lifetime,” said Urlich.
She highlighted that this period extends beyond physical growth, with the brain, bones, immune system and nervous system developing rapidly during these early years. Nutrition, she added, provides the building blocks required to support this development.
For Odi, this philosophy has translated into a product development approach focused on nutrient-dense whole-food ingredients rather than simply removing ingredients from formulations. The brand’s range includes organic vegetables, organ blends, bone broth and algal DHA omega-3.
Several Odi products provide approximately 30–50 per cent of a child’s recommended daily iron intake through wholefood ingredients, with iron positioned as a key nutritional priority within the brand’s portfolio.
Urlich also highlighted the specific nutritional requirements of infants, noting that babies have relatively small stomachs while having high nutrient requirements.
“A baby has a tiny stomach but extraordinarily high nutrient needs. They require more iron each day than an adult male; there simply isn’t room for foods that fill them up without delivering meaningful nutrition,” she said.
According to Urlich, this makes nutrient density particularly important during infancy, where each meal provides an opportunity to contribute to a child’s nutritional needs.
“Every mouthful is an opportunity to nourish development. That’s why Odi leads with one of the nutrients babies need most: iron, delivered through nutrient-dense whole-food ingredients,” she added.
The Australian launch marks the latest stage in Odi’s expansion beyond New Zealand. By combining wholefood ingredients with a focus on nutrient density, the brand aims to differentiate itself in the growing baby and children’s nutrition category and respond to increasing parental interest in the nutritional quality of early-life foods.
