A US mac-and-cheese brand backed by Israeli actress Gal Gadot announced Thursday that it was set to be acquired by Italian pasta giant Barilla.

Goodles, which was founded in October 2020 and bills its products as a “more nutritious, incredibly delicious” mac-and-cheese, said it would stay based in Santa Cruz, California, maintain its 73-person staff and “continue to operate independently as a standalone brand.”

“The deal is subject to customary regulatory approvals,” the statement said.

It did not otherwise specify terms of the deal, including the selling price. The company was valued at $88 million after a 2023 funding round that raised $13 million.

It turned its first profit in 2024, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The newspaper reported Goodles controlled 7.8% of the US boxed mac-and-cheese market in the 12 months that ended in June, up from just 0.8% over the same period three years earlier.

Barilla Group chairman Guido Barilla said the 149-year-old pasta titan, which sells to over 100 countries, has “been following Goodles closely for some time” and was impressed by its team, products and “the momentum behind its........

© The Times of Israel