Bobbie’s New CGO on Her Plan to Take It From Formula Disruptor to Household Name

Baby formula doesn’t have a reputation as a category that yields disruptive brands, but Bobbie has been trying to change that with its Molly Baz billboards and an endorsement from Cardi B. Now, Stacey Andrade–Wells, who was most recently chief marketing officer (CMO) at Liquid IV, has joined the business as its first chief growth officer (CGO) to power up its next stage of growth. As she steps into her new role, she tells ADWEEK about why she made the leap, the lessons she’ll bring with her from Liquid I.V. 's singing toilet Super Bowl debut, and why brands are missing the mark with new parents. This interview has been edited and condensed for conciseness and flow.AW: You spent four years at Liquid I.V. and led the brand’s Super Bowl debut. What lessons from that will you be bringing to Bobbie? SAW: We didn’t just bring singing toilets to the Super Bowl for fun (though it was really fun); we did it because it was a disruptive and funny way to bring attention to America’s dehydration problem. Then we made sure that idea showed up everywhere a person might encounter it: on TikTok, in Target, on a poster in a bar bathroom. It was one big idea, translated fluently into a dozen different media languages. Bobbie is sitting on that same kind of truth. This is a brand willing to challenge the feeding stigma and arm parents with the confidence and education they need. My job is to give that courage a bigger stage and a sharper delivery system, turning a challenger brand into a household name along the way. AW: Liquid IV has shown how a fairly functional product can become culturally relevant. Are there lessons in there that you can apply to baby formula? SAW: Absolutely. Hydration and infant formula are both functional products people often don't think about until they desperately need them. The playbook isn't really about the product; it's about understanding what it unlocks for people's lives, and then having the guts to tell that story loudly. AW: What have you learned so far about building a challenger brand against much bigger players? SAW: You win by being authentic, agile, and fiercely protective of your consumer. Legacy players have scale, but challenger brands have soul and speed. When you're up against duopolies or legacy giants, you can’t out-spend them on day one, but you can out-trust them. AW: What was it about Bobbie that made you want to make the move? SAW: I spent a lot of time contemplating my next chapter. I wanted a new challenge. The responsibility of feeding our most vulnerable population, without compromising on quality and safety, is a mission not everyone has the courage to take on. When I met [Bobbie's CEO] Laura Modi and saw what she was building, it spoke to me in a way other opportunities couldn't match. AW: You’re Bobbie’s first CGO. What does that role look like in practice? SAW: We need one shared growth vision and clear strategies to achieve it. That means being clear about what consumers we serve, how to reach them with the right message at the right time, and continuing to invest in our products. I want to deliver our revenue goals while never losing the connection and trust that make Bobbie unique. AW: Bobbie has already built a $150 million-plus business. What’s the biggest opportunity for its next phase of growth? SAW: Bobbie already has powerful credibility and trust with parents. There's an opportunity for us to build on this as a differentiator: expanding our footprint to reach more parents with our product while doubling down on education, services, and a sense of community for people at a critical transition in their lives. AW: What are brands getting wrong about reaching new parents? SAW: The parenting space falls easily into the trap of perfection. There’s an inclination to sell an idealized version of parenthood that makes people feel inadequate during one of the most vulnerable, chaotic times of their lives. What Bobbie does differently, and what I plan to lean into even more, is leading with radical empathy and education. We don't shy away from the hard realities of feeding, postpartum, and year one of parenting. We never will. AW: If we spoke a year from now, what would you want to have achieved at Bobbie? SAW: I hope we've scaled into our next phase of growth while deepening our roots in community and education. I’d like more families across the country to have access to a better standard of infant nutrition because we made Bobbie easier to find and trust. I also want to keep moving the needle, not just on our business metrics, but on the cultural conversations around parenting, paid leave, and maternal health that make this brand so special.

Challenger Brands

Bobbie’s New CGO on Her Plan to Take It From Formula Disruptor to Household Name

Stacey Andrade-Wells helped make Liquid I.V. a culturally relevant brand. Now she’s bringing what she learned to Bobbie

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Rebecca Stewart

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