Israeli actress Gal Gadot's mac and cheese company Goodles has raised $13 million in Series A round funding, according to an exclusive report by Fortune magazine on Monday.
Series A round refers to when a company, in this case, Goodles, has its first significant round of venture capital financing. It can then sell its preferred stock to investors in exchange for their investment. The company is bringing this funding so that it is able to compete with other mac-and-cheese brands.
The series A round is led by the private equity firm L Catterton alongside other investors such as Third Craft Partners, Willow Growth, Gingerbread Capital, and Springdale, Fortune reported.
Gadot and her business partner Jen Zeszut thought to market Goodles to everyone, as the product had initially just been marketed for kids.
How Goodles initially started
Gadot grew up eating mac and cheese and relied on her family members based in the US to bring the boxed product to her when visiting, the actress told Fortune.
Initially launching the brand in 2021, Goodles included more protein and fiber in its noodles, and the company then began offering some of its products with a kosher certification the following year. Each box of Goodles mac and cheese contains 14g of protein, 6g of fiber with probiotics, 21 nutrients from plants
The company stated that its aim is to reinvent conventional mac and cheese by using healthier, cleaner ingredients, and also stated that the Wonder Woman star's decision to get involved in the venture is "just an extension of what she always tries to do: make a positive impact on the planet."