David’s Protein secures $10M in funding, led by CPG veterans who emphasize nutrition over fads.
The $10 million funding round was led by Rahal and Valor Siren Ventures, in addition to Peter Attia, a Stanford, Johns Hopkins and National Institutes of Health-trained physician, and Andrew Huberman, a neurologist at hearing and professor at Stanford University School of Medicine. and ophthalmology.
The capital will go to operations, R&D, new employees and sales expansion. The brand will go direct to consumers on Sept. 16 on David’s website, Rahal said.
David’s bars contain 28 grams of protein, 150 calories and zero grams of sugar, with more information on ingredients published at launch, according to Rahal.
The brand identity draws inspiration from Michaelangelo’s sculpture, David, which represents the “toughness and wisdom and discipline” required to create a lasting product, Rahal said.
Rahal: Most of David’s investments are not “typical,” but investors want ‘proof of success’..
David, founded by Rahal (founder of RXBAR, bought by Kellogg’s for $600 million in 2017) and Zach Ranen (former investor and founder of the good-for-you cookie brand RAIZE), identified protein transport products as. a promising macronutrient group. This decision was driven by the growing consumer demand for functional snacks.
Although numbers may vary, the size of the American protein market is poised to grow from $6.1 billion in 2024 to $7.4 billion in 2029 at a compound annual growth rate of 3.96%, according to Mordor’s report Intelligence. Food and beverages make up the largest share (51.9%) of protein consumption with an increase in vegan and vegetarian consumers looking for protein offerings.
With backgrounds based on investments and CPG, the founders focused on dealing with proteins as “measurable, identifying targets,” which attracted the attention of investors, which is the brand’s emphasis on protein and moving away from the methods of food, Rahal said.
Rahal admits that the amount of money David is offering is “unusual,” but his experience “and way of balancing money” made it attractive to investors.
“Typically, as an investor, you don’t invest a lot in … food and beverages that don’t have proven success,” he explained.
However, he emphasizes that a properly segmented product combined with a long-term macrotrend will attract investors’ attention. With 28 grams of protein in each David, the brand aims to stand out from other brands in the group, including RXBAR with 12 grams of protein, ALOHA with 14 grams and KIND with 12 grams, among others.
“The protein macrotrend is very powerful and easy to track. … [It] it is very clear that [it] it’s not reductionist and it’s not a science-based approach that’s common in food and drink, it’s based on a lot of evidence,” he said.
Rahal’s ability to leverage his expertise and integrity through his first name, RXBAR, helped build trust with investors, but part of the game was moving away from food trends. and instead focuses on “evidence-based nutrition,” he said.
For the game, Rahal pointed out that it definitely helped him get into the lead game along with his RXBAR confidence but “the high protein performance is strong and easy to get back” compared to building a food-based product, he said. . One of the biggest lessons Rahal learned in pursuing a long-term CPG model was RXBAR’s inability to adapt to “migration trends from paleo and keto,” and instead focused on creating a balanced snack “protein to calorie ratio,” he. said.
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