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Our mission at @david_protein is to create tools to increase muscle and decrease fat. The three most important principles to guide a diet that achieves these goals are:
1) eat sufficient protein
2) don’t eat too many calories
3) minimize added sugar consumption
There is no bar that achieves these goals better than David. Yes, David is a processed food. Yes, processed foods are most often unhealthy (because they’re often loaded with fat and sugar). However, processing actually can make our food safe, accessible, and, in some cases, more nutritious. That is what we are doing with David. You know this, of course, as your brand Kettle & Fire, could not sell shelf-stable bone broths without the processing that occurs. While we weren't around then, we don’t believe our ancestors had the “retorting” and “aseptic” packaging technology that you use (“retorting” my food into “aseptic” packaging sounds kinda scary, doesn’t it!).
With the guidance of our Chief Science Officer Dr. Peter Attia and other nutrition experts such as Layne Norton, we take an evidence-based approach. Our ingredient choices are governed by the proven effects they have on the human body, not by subjective views of health or nutrition dogma. We are proud to bring a bar to the market that can deliver nutrition facts far superior to any other. Anyone can learn about the ingredients for themselves here: davidprotein.com/pages/about…
Which brings us to the elephant in the room: If your concern is “processing,” how does Surely wine — your brand that takes wine, strips out the alcohol using industrial processing, adds flavorings and sulfites, then bottles the result — earn your stamp of approval?
David Protein Bar.
At first glance, their marketing might convince you that it's healthy.
In reality—it's a nuclear bomb for your gut, metabolism, and overall health.
Here is a breakdown: 🧵
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Excited to share that David has raised $75M in our Series A and acquired one of our key suppliers, Epogee.
This funding and acquisition give us the ability to scale production, expand retail distribution, and accelerate development of new products designed to help people build muscle and lose fat.
Grateful to our partners, team, and early customers who made it possible.
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davidprotein.com/pages/third… Not sure why David was included in this meme, we weren’t part of your original testing, and our bars are third-party tested to confirm undetectable levels of lead.
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What should we make next? We will make what wins.
37%
Cookies & Cream
22%
Salted Carmel
25%
Key Lime Pie
17%
Frozen Cod
23,314 votes • Final results
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Free 5,000 Sample Packs Giveaway.
At David, we design tools to increase muscle and decrease fat. We have meticulously crafted the perfect protein bar. Every ingredient and every flavor combination has been diligently recipe tested to optimize for macronutrients and taste. Our unwavering commitment to excellence and craftsmanship has led to what we believe is the most effective portable protein on the planet: 28g protein, 150 calories, 0g sugar, and no artificial sweeteners.
The sample pack includes four bars from our first flavors: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Blueberry Pie, Cake Batter, and Double Fudge Brownie.
To receive a sample pack and try our bars before we officially launch, enter our giveaway by following the steps below:
1) Fill out the form linked in my profile.
2) Like this tweet.
3) Respond to this tweet by tagging a friend.
Eligibility & Entry Details:
Participants who complete all steps will be eligible to win one of 5,000 sample packs.
The giveaway ends at 1pm EST on August 28.
Winners will be contacted via email within 24 hours to provide shipping information and claim their prize.
Open to residents of the contiguous 48 United States.
No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited.
Must be 18 years or older to enter the giveaway.
Legal Notices:
This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with Instagram. By entering, you confirm that you are 18+ years of age, a resident of an eligible region, and agree to Instagram's terms of use.
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Introducing David, launching by end of 2024 (davidprotein.com). Note: David is hiring - see end of post for links.
Announcing our new brand, David. David’s mission is to help customers be strong and not overfat. We use the latest food technology to create high-protein, low-calorie, blood-sugar-friendly foods that are craveable, using only ingredients that are either actively great for you or do no harm.
I’ve always been obsessed with Bars, so this will naturally be our first product.
The namesake of David is Michelangelo's masterpiece of the biblical hero. If you have seen David, you understand the powerful impression it makes. It is unparalleled with its beauty and excellence. It is clear the values required to sculpt David - discipline and intelligence.
We share these principles embodied by David in the creation of our new product. We have meticulously crafted the optimal protein bar. Each ingredient and every flavor combination has a purpose. Nothing is found in David by happenstance. This maniacal commitment to intentionality has led to the most effective portable protein on this planet - 28g protein, 160 calories, 0g sugar.
Humans aren’t perfect, but David is.
We will ship products by the end of 2024.
Currently hiring for a start in summer 2024:
Director of Growth - drive.google.com/file/d/1s4Z…
Director of Finance & Supply Chain - drive.google.com/file/d/1pqi…
Director of Service - drive.google.com/file/d/1pPk…
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28 150 0
Continuous iteration is at the core of our product strategy at David (davidprotein.com). As we prepare for launch by the end of 2024, we continue to sculpt our masterpiece.
David is now only 150 calories, still with 28g of protein and 0g of sugar. This improves our bar to 75% Calories from Protein (CFP = Calories from Protein / Total Calories).
To continue our progress, we are hiring for two additional roles. See below, and apply if you believe you are a fit.
Director of Sales: lnkd.in/eTWHtEju
Director of Research & Development:
lnkd.in/enUvPnTN
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If “eating like our ancestors” is the gold standard, remind me: when exactly were they drinking blended, filtered, sulfited, non-alcoholic wine, processed through proprietary industrial methods like your brands Surely / Arlow wines? Or shelf-stable bone broth that has gone through a Retorting process like your brand Kettle & Fire?
You’ve built your brands on modern food science — just like we have. So let’s stop pretending yours are noble and ours is dangerous. We are all on the same team to bring people better food choices, and it is important to remain evidence-based in how we think about our consumption.
Thanks to everyone supporting our mission to help people build muscle and lose fat — starting with the highest protein-to-calorie bar on the market.
11/ Our ancestors evolved to eat whole foods, and never encountered modified plant fats, artificial sweeteners, or isolated protein compounds.
Yet today, we're flooding our systems with these lab-created substances. I'm afraid David bar is just more of the same.
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The processed food battle has been difficult to fight, so we went back to first principles and we are now launching the best protein to calorie ratio frozen bar possible.
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Today we launch. Sound on. piped.video/T7-CgKlmkPU?feature…
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David just launched on Tiktok Shop. David doesn’t discount our bars, but TikTok is offering a discount on our shop right now (we don’t know when it will end or if it will happen again). Check it out if you want to try our 2 sample pack bundle. vt.tiktok.com/ZTF24x855/?pag…
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Yes, processing cocoa powder will decrease antioxidant levels compared to raw cocoa. This is true and we use this ingredient because we can create a better tasting bar with deacidified cocoa powder. Similarly, roasting coffee beans will decrease their levels of flavonols, but humans do it because it creates a better tasting cup of coffee. Fewer antioxidants does not make dutch process cocoa powder harmful.
The retorting process used in products like yours at Kettle & Fire can reduce heat-sensitive vitamins and eliminate any natural probiotics — but I imagine you wouldn’t consider that harmful, given the broader nutritional benefits that remain intact.
9/ Then, there's the cocoa.
Their cocoa is processed with alkali (Dutch process), meaning it's been treated with potassium carbonate to neutralize its acidity.
This significantly reduces the flavanol content - the compounds responsible for many of chocolate's health benefits.
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That’s true — and it’s exactly why this is an amazing innovation.
We use a non-digestible fat to create the mouthfeel of fat without the calories. It’s how you make processed food better, not worse.
You do something similar with Surely: manipulating inputs and using mechanical means to reconstruct the taste of wine with lower alcohol. That’s not “natural.” That’s engineered.
We’re both using food science to improve macros without compromising taste. The difference? We’re transparent about it — and not pretending to sell "natural" ancestral tradition in a bottle.
3/ What's most concerning to me is the modified plant fat (EPG).
This is a lab-created fat substitute that gives you the mouthfeel of fat, but with 0.7 calories per gram (instead of 9).
How? By chemically altering plant oils so your body CANNOT digest them.
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This is not a helpful comment because all food is, by definition, made up of chemical compounds. For example, a simple orange contains a complex mix of around 400 chemical compounds. That doesn’t make oranges bad. While you may teach a 4 year-old to use heuristics like “chemicals = bad,” I would expect more from an adult who seems to care about nutrition. Again, we prefer to stay evidence-based and evaluate the actual effects that an ingredient has on the human body, and natural flavors have no evidence to show they would promote fat gain or harm metabolic health.
Funny—your wine brand, Surely, uses “natural flavors” too.
8/ Then in "less bad but still not ideal" territory we have natural flavors, the industry's favorite trick.
Under FDA rules, this single term can hide over 100 different chemicals (propylene glycol, preservatives like BHA/BHT, MSG)..
All without disclosure on the label.
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This is a very odd criticism from someone failing to disclose his own consumer packaged good products, including one that contains alcohol, marketed as "healthy."
10/ What frustrates me is that these bars are marketed as "healthy" to people trying to improve their diet.
Will this kill you?
Unlikely, but it's sure not the health product the company would like you to believe.
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Yes, the source ingredient for EPG is rapeseed oil because it has the right properties to make EPG solid at body temperature. This oil is then converted into a saturated fat. However, the type of fat is actually not relevant for the health implications because it does not get absorbed. So, as much as you want to play “gotcha,” with the anti-seed oil crowd, there is no relevant debate here on seed oils vs. saturated fats given it gets digested as neither.
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As you said, maltitol has a Glycemic Index of 35. This is exactly why it’s a great ingredient. It has only half of the glycemic impact of sugar, but 75-90% of the sweetness. Additionally, it only provides ~2 calories per gram vs. sugar which provides 4 calories per gram. If you’d like, we can make a list of foods that are above a 35 on the Glycemic Index so that everyone knows to be afraid of: bananas, cooked carrots (an ingredient in your Kettle & Fire Bone Broth, so beware everyone), boiled celery (another in Kettle & Fire), and many more.
As you mention, maltitol is in a class of molecules called “Sugar Alcohols” - this term is used to describe any molecule that starts as a sugar but gets an extra hydrogen atom attached to an open oxygen atom in the molecule. In maltitol’s case, it starts as maltose, a sugar found in many grains. Once transformed into maltitol, the body does not break down the full molecule, so much of it passes through your digestive system unmetabolized, like a fiber would. And, just like a fiber, you will have GI symptoms by overconsuming. The NIH cites 40g per day of Maltitol as a typical tolerance threshold. David falls well below this threshold. If a lot of fiber causes digestive issues, should we cut out all fiber and replace it with sugar?
If the concern is blood sugar, the fact that you promote several wine brands — which contains alcohol and residual sugar, both of which spike blood glucose and burden the liver — feels... off.
7/ Maltitol has a glycemic index of 35 (compared to 65 for table sugar), meaning it still impacts your blood sugar significantly.
And the digestive effects? Let's just say there's a reason Amazon reviews for sugar-free gummy bears are comedy gold.
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To compare EPG to Olestra is very misleading and suggests you’re deliberately trying to deceive people, or not at all well-versed in food science. It’s like comparing a greasy street taco contaminated with E.Coli to high-end Mexican food. Olestra is a liquid at body temperature, whereas EPG remains a solid. This is the jugular difference in digestibility (picture a solid being passed through your stool vs. a liquid leaking out).
Again, if you’re comfortable using “proprietary processes” using “cutting-edge spinning cone column technology” for Surely wines, maybe give others the same benefit of the doubt.
4/ EPG is designed to pass through your digestive system without being absorbed, allowing companies to reduce calorie claims.
It's basically the modern version of Olestra.
Remember those chips that caused "anal leakage"?
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EPG is an amazing ingredient that solves a big problem for our society. It’s been extensively studied, with over a decade of safety data backing it. I'd recommend exploring it further, I think you'll find it fascinating. Here is some of Dr. Bechtel’s work which is a great place to start:
sciencedirect.com/science/ar…
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2549…
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