Meet the Annie behind Annie’s mac and cheese (yes, she’s an actual human).
Ever wonder whether Annie’s mac and cheese is named after a real person? Turns out, it is—and Annie Withey, the woman behind the brand, also invented Smartfood popcorn, SFGate reported. The $15 million windfall from the sale of Smartfood to Kraft in 1989 allowed her to focus on her real passion: pasta. And the rest is history. Withey assumed the title of “inspirational president” when Solera Capital took a majority stake in Annie’s in 2002, then left when the company was sold to General Mills in 2014. Now, she lives in Connecticut with seven sheep, two horses, and a handful of other animals. Which isn’t too far from what we might’ve imagined, had we been tasked with coming up with a backstory for the person who brought us bunny-shaped noodles and Parmesan peace pasta.
