David’s protein ice cream sells out in 28 minutes as food tech takes lead

David Protein’s frozen dessert vanished in 28 minutes, and that speed says as much about food science as it does about appetite. The June 1 online launch turned a protein ice cream drop into a test of whether premium buyers want dessert first, or the promise that formulation can deliver indulgence without the usual nutritional trade-offs.

The launch came with four flavors, Cookie Dough, Triple Peanut Butter, Triple Chocolate and Vanilla Bean, and David priced the run at $90 for six pints, or $15 a pint. Each pint carried about 30 grams of protein, with 210 to 260 calories and roughly 1 to 2 grams of sugar depending on flavor. David also lined up a limited-time summer ice cream shop at S10 Gym in New York City’s West Village, beginning June 5, a retail move later tied to 109 Leroy Street.

For founder Peter Rahal, the pints are the headline product only on the surface. Rahal, who co-founded RXBAR and launched David in 2024, has been pushing the company toward a broader food-tech identity built around proprietary ingredient systems, especially EPG, the alt-fat David acquired through Epogee in May 2025. David has said it was targeting revenue north of $300 million in 2026, and in April the company was already said to have expanded EPG manufacturing capacity five-fold while looking for commercial partners.

That expansion is happening under a legal cloud. In June 2025, three smaller food companies sued David, Epogee and Rahal over alleged monopolization of EPG supply. David responded in a June 11, 2025 court filing that EPG has about 0.7 calories per gram, that Epogee is the only source for the ingredient, and that the company had negotiated a long-term supply agreement. Food industry coverage has also said Rahal described EPG as a non-nutritive fat that can create foods with texture and flavor similar to full-fat versions while cutting calories by as much as 92 percent.

That is the real business behind the sellout. David is not just selling protein ice cream; it is selling a formulation thesis, one that tries to solve calorie control, mouthfeel, sweetness, protein density and repeat purchase in the same pint. The ice cream launch lands in a market where dairy giants like Danone, Nestlé and Lactalis are also chasing protein and meal-replacement demand, which makes the competition less about branding than about who can engineer the better eating experience. In that race, the brand may be David, but the moat looks increasingly like food technology.