When Peter Rahal set out to build David, he wasn’t trying to make a better protein bar. He was trying to rewrite what a protein bar even was. And more importantly, what it could stand for.

Most brands in the nutrition space follow the same playbook: flavour-forward packaging, trend-chasing macros, and the kind of messaging that makes a bar sound like a treat.

But Rahal, after scaling RXBAR to a $600M exit, chose a different path for his second act. He didn’t want to compete on taste. He wanted to own protein, not as a feature, but as a foundational concept.

The Positioning Play

Rahal has said clearly: great brand work doesn’t come from agencies alone; it starts with the founder’s clarity. With RXBAR, the packaging worked because he knew what he was solving for. And with David, he’s doing it again. This time, he’s not just building a brand, he’s building the entire architecture around a singular idea.

David’s core idea is clear and direct: maximize protein, minimize everything else. This is reflected in the product’s design: 28g of protein, 150 calories, 0g of sugar. Few bars on the market match this combination of protein, calories, and sugar, though some, like Quest or Built, come close on macros.

And that’s not a happy accident. It’s the result of engineering decisions few others are willing to make: using novel fat systems (EPG), combining multiple high-quality protein sources, and unapologetically leaning into artificial sweeteners to make it work.

This isn’t a snack. It’s a tool. David doesn’t try to be the bar you crave. It tries to be the bar you trust. The one you can count on to get you closer to your body composition goals, whether that’s gaining lean muscle, losing fat, or staying full without blowing your calorie budget.

Breaking Category Conventions

In a podcast conversation, Rahal made a sharp observation: “In this category, brand comes second. Flavour comes first. I wanted to flip that.”

So he did.

Rahal observed that in the protein bar aisle, most brands organize by flavour first, then by brand. So he flipped it. David’s packaging isn’t colour-coded by flavour. It leads with the brand. Gold is the base colour. Because gold signals a premium, it evokes the David statue: discipline, intelligence, and beauty.

The name wasn’t a gimmick. It was a course correction. RXBAR, after all, had a naming issue: RX meant something in CrossFit circles, but something totally different in medicine. With David, the symbol does the talking. No confusion. The gold wrapper, minimalist design, and Michelangelo’s statue inspiration don’t just make it stand out—they make it signal something else: discipline, intelligence, perfection. This isn’t a bar that wants to be liked. It wants to be respected.

This move reframes the category itself. Instead of competing for shelf appeal with bright, flavour-coded labels and indulgent imagery, David creates mental distance from the “snack bar” identity. It moves closer to what Peter Attia and Andrew Huberman represent: rigorous, evidence-based human optimization.

System-Level Commitment

What makes David’s position defensible isn’t just its brand or product. It’s how it’s baked into the system.

• Vertical integration: David didn’t just use EPG (a novel fat replacer); he acquired the company that makes it, a bold move that sparked a lawsuit from competitors and raised questions about access, fairness, and the risks of monopolizing key ingredients. That’s a Level 4 move.
• Expert credibility: Dr. Peter Attia isn’t a spokesperson. He’s the Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Andrew Huberman is an investor. That’s not influencer marketing. That’s strategic architecture.
• Retail expansion strategy: From zero to over 3,000 doors in under a year, while maintaining DTC discipline and subscription infrastructure.
• Product reformulation: Following early feedback on taste and texture, the team invested in a rapid reformulation to enhance palatability without compromising macros. This decision, although time-consuming and costly, ultimately built trust.

These aren’t marketing tactics. They’re business model decisions are aligned with positioning. That’s what separates Level 1 messaging from Level 3 commitment.

Owning the Noun: Efficiency

Rahal isn’t just building a bar. He’s creating a gravitational center around one concept: efficiency. Everything else orbits this core.

This is the noun David owns, the bar optimized for outcome over experience. And it shows up everywhere.

Why 28g of protein in 150 calories? Efficiency. Why use EPG instead of traditional fats? Efficiency. Why short, sharp copy instead of lifestyle fluff? Efficiency. Every decision serves the same center.

The brand doesn’t just tell this story, it lives it. Product formulation, packaging, operations, and communications are all aligned around maximizing nutritional output per calorie input. That’s what creates resilient positioning. Even as flavours change or new SKUs launch, the gravitational center holds.

While other bars chase trends, keto one year, paleo the next, David anchors to timeless nutritional physics: high protein, low sugar, controlled calories. Trends come and go. Physics doesn’t.

That’s system-level positioning. Not what you say, but what you are.

Lessons for Founders

• Don’t chase trends. Anchor to enduring problems.
• Build Level 3 and 4 proof. Packaging is easy to copy. Owning your supply chain isn’t.
• Treat positioning as a system design challenge. Every decision should reinforce the noun you want to own.
• If you’re not willing to sacrifice, you’re not positioning. You’re advertising.

FinalLY

David isn’t winning because it says it’s different. It’s winning because it behaves differently. That’s what real positioning looks like.

Not another protein bar. A different philosophy entirely.

A bar that doesn’t want to be a treat.

It’s designed to serve a purpose.

And that’s why it matters.