SANTA CRUZ, CALIF. — Barilla Group is growing its pasta portfolio by agreeing to acquire macaroni and cheese manufacturer Goodles. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
After the acquisition, Goodles will operate independently as a standalone brand, its team will remain in place, and it will remain headquartered in Santa Cruz.
Jen Zeszut, co-founder and chief executive officer of Goodles, also will continue to lead the company.
“Today is an important day for our Group,” said Guido Barilla, chairman of the Barilla Group. “We had been following Goodles closely for some time and became increasingly impressed by the strength of the brand, the quality of its products, and the momentum behind its growth. As we got to know the management team, led by Jen Zeszut, we were equally impressed by the strength of the organization, its unity, and its forward-looking mindset. Together, these qualities convinced us that Goodles was the right choice and represents an exciting opportunity for the future.”
Goodles was founded in October 2020 as Gooder Foods, Inc., to provide health-conscious consumers and later adult consumers with a classic comfort food formulated to be “better-for-you.”
The company’s macaroni and cheese is made with wheat flour, chickpea protein, wheat protein, broccoli, spinach, kale, pumpkin, sweet potato, sunflower seeds, cranberry, chlorella, maitake mushroom and shiitake mushroom.
It makes several product lines, including a traditional line with such flavors as Mover & Shaker, Twist My Parm, Cheddy Mac, and Shella Good; a deluxe line featuring squeezable cheese; a microwavable cup line, gluten-free and vegan offerings; and several varieties of dry pasta noodles.
“We started as a little tiny company going up against two of the biggest food companies on the planet, and they have hundreds of millions of dollars to throw at this,” Zeszut, said in an interview with Food Business News. “When you’re going up against them, and you know you can’t outspend them, and you know you can’t out coupon them … you have to change the game, you just do. You have to play a different game. So, we play a nutrition game, we play a clean ingredients game.”
Goodles sells more than three units of macaroni and cheese per second (or approximately 260,000 units per day), and the company’s offerings represent close to 90% of the growth in adoption in macaroni and cheese, Zeszut said.
“In one mass retailer, 84% of the people who buy Goodles are incremental to the category, so they’ve never bought another box, a box of mac and cheese before ever at that store,” she said. “Another mass retailer, 81%, another club customer, 80%, so we truly are bringing people back to the category.”
