Axios House: Highlighting ingredients helps brands compete in a crowded market, founders say

AUSTIN, Texas — Boxed mac-and-cheese startup Goodles is successfully finding strategies to stand out from legacy distributors like Kraft and Annie's, founder Jen Zeszut said at Axios House at SXSW.

Axios' Eleanor Hawkins and Nicole Cobler spoke to Zeszut and Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams and Floura founder and CEO Jeni Britton for the event, which was sponsored by Suntory.

Why it matters: By positioning itself as a shame-free, more nutritious version of mac and cheese, Goodles reflects a broader focus on nutrition as a way to succeed in the food and drink industry.

Fun fact: Actor Gal Gadot is a founding partner.

By the numbers: At one mass retailer that carries the brand, 84% of purchases of Goodles are from people who had never bought mac and cheese at that store.

• Consumers have "walked past those aisles, and they've…seen Kraft, and they've seen Annie's, and they're like, 'No, I'm not buying that,'" Zeszut told Hawkins. "And then Goodles shows up, and they're buying Goodles."

What they're saying: Ingredients are fundamental to our well-being, Britton told Cobler.

• "95% of Americans are deficient in fiber by at least 50%," Britton said.
• "60% of us have one or more chronic illness. 41% of our children have one or more chronic illness, and many of those are diet-related."

Content from the sponsor's segment:

In a View From the Top conversation, Jing Mertoglu, Suntory Global Spirits' vice president of insights and analytics, innovation and marketing excellence, revealed to Axios publisher Nicholas Johnston what she sees as the next trends in food and drink:

• "People are looking to experience flavors they wouldn't have tried unless they traveled," she said. "Asian-inspired flavors — exotic flavors — are going to be very big."
• There's also been a post-COVID wellness acceleration, she said, compounded by an aging population concerned with longevity and a younger generation more cognizant of a well-rounded concept of health.
• "We're … looking at that to offer an array of products that deliver on those needs, but have them well integrated so that it doesn't feel like you're eating raw grass," Mertoglu said.

Go deeper: Watch the full conversations on YouTube.