Family owned Barilla finalized its Goodles acquisition this week after announcing it in early September. A person familiar with the negotiations put the cash consideration at $750 million, which works out to 28 times what Goodles had previously raised. Financial terms had not been reported before.
Goodles brought in $190 million in net sales over the year leading up to the close. Barilla expressed satisfaction that the acquisition had wrapped up and declined to share financial details. In its statement, Barilla said, "Goodles will continue to operate as a standalone brand under its current leadership, and we look forward to supporting its next phase of growth while preserving the creativity, innovation and consumer connection that have made it successful." The deal also minted dozens of Goodles employees as millionaires, according to the person familiar with the talks.
Jen Zeszut co founded Goodles in October 2020 and will remain at the helm of the Santa Cruz, California based company. She said the company intends to keep all of its employees on staff. Zeszut recalled that her initial meeting with Barilla executives occurred in Las Vegas at a Formula One race late last year, with no deal discussions taking place.
Barilla approached Goodles this summer after closely tracking its growth. "We're just excited to prove to the world - it's not that good, special things die when they become part of something big," she said.
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Goodles has been pulling share from Kraft Heinz Co.'s blue-box mac despite charging more, helped by neon-forward packaging, higher protein, and flavors like Gouda and Hatch chile. That lines up with a June BNP Paribas analysis showing that within frozen meals, yogurt, and nut butters, less processed options are outselling more processed ones by about 7 percentage points.
Early backer Springdale Ventures invested $750,000 in Goodles, then added another $750,000. Co-founder Genevieve Gilbreath said the space "was really ripe for disruption," noting Goodles took on both Kraft Heinz and Annie's mac & cheese, which is owned by General Mills Inc. "Big companies still have a really, really hard time innovating and creating something that develops real brand love," she said. Springdale also invested in BeatBox, where Anheuser-Busch purchased an 85 percent stake earlier this year.
A person familiar with the negotiations said Barilla agreed to a nine-figure payout contingent on Goodles hitting performance targets. Combined with a headline cash price and dozens of newly wealthy employees, you are looking at another example of a large strategic buyer snapping up a fast growing, better for you brand.
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