Distribution: GOODLES Expands Retail Footprint with Whole Foods Market; Whoa Dough Takes to the Sky with American Airlines

GOODLES Launches in Whole Foods Market Nationwide

California-based Goodles has landed its better-for-you mac and cheese in Whole Foods Market stores nationwide, marking its first placement in a natural channel retailer.

“This is a pivotal time for our consumers as we roll out our first-ever natural channel retailer. We dreamed of GOODLES hitting the shelves at Whole Foods Market from the very beginning of our journey,” said GOODLES co-founder and board director, Paul Earle, in a press release.

GOODLES’ parent company, Gooder Foods, was founded in 2021 by former Cerebelly CEO Jen Zeszut (CEO), Annie’s co-founder and former president Deb Luster (Chief Impact Officer), former Kraft executive Paul Earle (board director) and actress and philanthropist Gal Gadot. The brand set out to create a better-for-you mac and cheese with a proprietary noodle recipe made from wheat and chickpea.

Available in four varieties – Mover & Shaker (cacio e pepe-inspired), Twist My Arm (asiago and parmesan spirals), Cheddy Mac (cheddar and macaroni) and Shell Good (aged white cheddar and shells) – each one cup serving contains 15 grams of protein and six grams of fiber and contains vegetables such as kale, spinach and maitake mushrooms.

“GOODLES is a full circle moment back to mac and cheese and I am excited to bring long overdue innovation to the beloved mac and cheese category, while building an authentic community of do-gooders who also believe small acts can have a huge impact,” Lester said in the release.

The 8-month-old brand first launched direct-to-consumer on its e-commerce site and Amazon before expanding into retailers like Target and Foxtrot.

In addition to the core four flavors, Whole Foods Market will also be the first retailer to carry the brand’s new Vegan is Believin’ variety. Launched in July, the SKU is formulated with 100% plant-based white cheddar and cashew milk, and has 12 grams of protein and 7 grams of fiber per serving.

Whoa Dough Takes to the Skies with American Airlines

Plant-based on-the-go cookie dough bar maker Whoa Dough announced it is taking to the skies with American Airlines.

Whoa Dough was launched in 2020 by Todd Goldstein after he was diagnosed with gluten intolerance. The brand set out to create a cookie dough product, ultimately making a bar with a base of whole-grain oat flour and chickpea flour.

“The sky’s the limit for Whoa Dough now that American Airlines, the largest airline in the world, will be offering first-class passengers our tasty, plant-based snack bars,” said Whoa Dough founder, Todd Goldstein, in a press release. “Having a major airline carry our line is incredibly exciting for us, as we are eager for Whoa Dough to be enjoyed by millions of travelers every day.”

Whoa Dough’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough bars will be included in first class passengers’ baskets on all domestic American Airline flights. The bars contain 4 grams of protein and 150 calories.

American is not the only airline to introduce better-for-you snacks to its in-air service menu. Last month, Delta announced its new snack lineup would feature its third SKU from Kate’s Real Food, a lemon coconut bar, in addition to Miss Vickie’s Sea Salt Kettle Chips, better-for-you candy Vego Bars and Michel et Augustin Dark Chocolate Cookie Squares.

Cappello’s Partners with Aldi

Cappello’s announced that two of its products, Uncured Pepperoni Almond Flour Pizza and Almond Flour Spinach & Cheese Ravioli, will be carried in Aldi stores across the country.

The grain-free, frozen brand was founded in 2011 by friends Ben Frohlichstein and Stacey Marcellus who were “inspired to bring a new kind of food into the world that was filled with nutritionally relevant ingredients, and tastes and textures that rivaled classics,” according to LinkedIn. Most recently, the brand closed a funding round led by venture firm Alliance Consumer Growth with participation by Finn Capital Partners in 2020. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The Spinach & Cheese Ravioli frozen meal combines spinach with ricotta cheese and features other ingredients like cage-free eggs, almond flour and sea salt.

The grain-free, gluten-free and soy-free Uncured Pepperoni Pizza offers a “cleaner twist” on its traditional counterpart with whole milk mozzarella and uncured beef and pork pepperoni and a grain-free, nut-based crust. The offering packs 19 grams of protein per ½ pizza serving.

Capello’s Spinach & Cheese Ravioli and Uncured Pepperoni Pizza will both be available at Aldi for $8 each, regularly $12.

Carbone Expands Retail Footprint with Whole Foods Market

Carbone Fine Food has expanded its retail footprint with the addition of select Whole Foods Market stores.

“As one of the fastest-growing food brands in the United States, Carbone is thrilled to broaden our reach with Whole Foods Market,” said Carbone CEO, Eric Skae, in a press release. “As grocery sales continue to rise and consumers continue to eat at home more and more, Carbone offers restaurant quality products for the home cook.”

The natural channel retailer will carry three of the brand’s sauces: Marinara, Arrabbiata (garlic, onion and red pepper flakes) and Tomato Basil. Skae previously led sauce brand Rao’s, which has been a staple product for the natural product retailer.

The brand’s sauces launched amid the COVID-19 pandemic as more and more consumers turned to at-home dining. The CPG line is an offshoot of the popular Carbone restaurant in New York City, which has a cult-like following, with customers waiting months to score a seat at the restaurant.

“We are excited to see our sauces alongside some of the finest brands in grocery. We take extreme care in choosing who we work with, from the farms in Italy to the teams that cook each jar of sauce, and we are honored to add Whole Foods Market to the fold,” said chef Mario Carbone in the release.

Lebby Snacks Grows Retail Presence with Several Stores

Lebby Snacks is bringing its dry roasted chickpea snacks into several new retailers over the next couple of months.

In late August, the brand will launch in 10 banners (Albertsons, Safeway, Jewel/Osco, Shaws/Star, ACME, Tom Thumb, Randalls, Pavilion and Vons) across six regions for a total of nearly 400 doors. In September, Lebby will roll out to 278 CVS Health Hubs, 100 West Coast Aldi stores and 200 Army and Airforce Exchange locations.

Available in four flavors – Dark Chocolate, Sesame Honey, Milk Chocolate and Mocha – Lebby’s chickpea snacks are dry roasted and free of oil, salt and additives.

More Notable Distribution News:

• Plant-based dessert brand Bon Dévil’s Choc and Vanilla flavored dessert cubs are now available in select Harris Teeter stores. Made with a coconut base and containing 100-120 calories per serving, each 4-pack of 1.6 oz. cups retails for $4.49.
• Brazilian plant-based meat maker Future Farm is rolling out its Future Burger, Future Beef and Future Sausage products to brick-and-mortar retail in the U.S. via Amazon Fresh, as well as two Southern California Sprouts locations. The brand will be distributed through KeHE.
• Oats Overnight has gone chainwide with Meijer, the company told NOSH via email. The expansion brings the brand to roughly 3,800 locations nationwide.