Barilla Reportedly Paid $750M in Cash for Goodles, the Protein Mac and Cheese

Boxed mac, big check

In 2020, Goodles was two founders on a Zoom call talking about boxed mac and cheese.

Now Barilla, which Forbes calls the biggest pasta brand in the world, owns it, reportedly for three-quarters of a billion dollars.

What's been reported

Bloomberg Law reported on October 23, citing a person familiar with the negotiations who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly:

Forbes reported the same $750 million figure on October 24 and said it’s more than 4 times revenue. Forbes estimated Goodles’ 12-month revenue at about $175 million when the deal was announced in September. That’s a Forbes estimate. The company declined to comment on financials.

Per Forbes, it’s Barilla’s first US acquisition since Back to Nature Snacks in January 2023. Goodles was valued at about $75 million around three years ago, when L Catterton led its Series A.

The mac is the same. The price tag says better-for-you comfort food is big business.The WellWham perspective

Who's behind Goodles

Goodles was co-founded by CEO Jen Zeszut and Paul Earle, a former Kraft brand manager, and is based in Santa Cruz, California. Forbes reports that its earliest investors included actress Gal Gadot and Deb Luster, a co-founder of Annie’s Homegrown. Gadot is an early investor, not a founder.

“Hundreds of VCs told us this would never work,” Zeszut told Forbes.

In its September announcement, Goodles said it will stay headquartered in Santa Cruz, operate as a standalone brand and keep its team, with Zeszut still in charge.

What's in the box

Goodles has 14 varieties, per Forbes, sold from Whole Foods to Walmart. The company says it sells five boxes or cups a second. On its site, Goodles’ Cheddy Mac lists 14 grams of protein, 7 grams of fiber with prebiotics, “21 nutrients from plants” and a low glycemic index. Those are the brand’s claims, and protein and fiber depend on how much you actually eat.

Our read: comfort food got a better-for-you remake, and Big Food paid up

This is our analysis. Goodles didn’t invent a new food. It took one of the most familiar boxes in the grocery store and added protein, fiber and loud packaging. A reported $750 million says big companies now see that formula as a real business, much like the protein push across the aisle. The open question is what changes under a global owner. Goodles says nothing will.

The reality check

A big price tag is a business verdict, not a nutrition one. It’s still mac and cheese. Protein and fiber claims are the brand’s, and the deal terms come from an unnamed source, not Barilla or Goodles.

The close

Two founders, one Zoom call, one box of mac.

And reportedly $750 million later, it still says Goodles on the front.

Sources