Why David Protein isn’t afraid to defy category norms

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If there’s one thing David Protein is going to do, it’s try to stand out. That’s why when it came time to pick the packaging, the team behind the brand went for gold.

“If you walk down the [protein bar] aisle today, you get bombarded with colors and different brands and really very little differentiation,” Oula Ghanem, chief of staff at David, told us. “[Our] strategy has been trying to differentiate across every possible feature of the product.”

Even the brand’s name, a reference to Michelangelo’s David sculpture, intentionally deviates from category standards, said Rion Harmon, co-founder and ECD at creative agency Day Job, which works with David. “We have lines for the brand like, ‘Nature made marble and humans made David,’ and it’s sort of hilarious, right?” he said. “We're talking about protein bars here.”

That irreverence and desire to be different is a big reason why the brand’s marketing has been unconventional for a protein bar. Since launching in September 2024, David has raised eyebrows selling cod on its website, sending sex toys to influencers, and running subway ads without a lick of text—just a picture of the product.

Ghanem said the goal in all of this is to drive David’s cultural relevance and attract audiences that fall outside the typically male and performance-driven protein bar consumer.

Something fishy this way comes

The idea for David’s cod fish campaign, Ghanem said, came from doing competitor research and seeing other protein bars making claims about being consumers’ No. 1. source of protein.

“We were thinking, ‘It’s really not credible to always claim you’re No. 1,’ she said. “You have to be No. 2 behind someone.”

Or something. Before making claims about being the bar with the most protein for the fewest calories on the market, Ghanem said the team decided to compare itself to a food item that has the “gold standard” protein-to-calorie ratio, which is cod. What started as a simple comparison on the website evolved into a full-blown retail and marketing strategy; the brand began selling $69 frozen Pacific cod fillets last summer and ran cod-themed billboards in New York City that generated buzz in the media and on social platforms.

“The outcome was a lot of awareness and attention,” Ghanem said.

It also helped the brand start a dialogue with consumers seeking naturally derived sources of protein. “We get a lot of backlash on protein bars being processed,” Ghanem said. “We do not ever want people to rely on David as the primary protein source in their diet…but it serves the exact purpose of convenience and portability.”

While the move helped with brand awareness among new audiences, David Protein isn’t making fishmonger its main identity anytime soon. “Shipping frozen cod across the country is very expensive,” Ghanem said. “Sales were okay, [but] definitely not the main goal.”

Today, she said people still ask her whether David is the “cod company” and if it was all a joke. “The fact that people are talking about it more than six months after is a signal of how successful that campaign was,” she said.

Marketing that satisfies

David recently kicked off the release of its Bronze protein bars with a campaign geared at women, in which Julia Fox tells them that “men disappoint,” but “David satisfies” online and in billboards and digital kiosks across New York City. As part of the campaign, the brand teamed up with sexual wellness brand Maude to send PR boxes containing protein bars and vibrators to creators, much to many recipients’ surprise. One creator, Aubrie Williams, told viewers she opened the box in front of her apartment’s staff expecting to share snacks.

“Originally we weren’t planning on adding a vibrator, but then we were like, ‘We’re positioning David as something that can give you as much pleasure as a vibrator, so two equal forms of pleasure,” Ghanem said. “Some of our partners were kind of uncomfortable with it, but overall, I think it resonated pretty well.”

David is running another campaign in New York using a different way to stand out—this time by saying nothing at all. The ads, displayed in Subway cars and stations, depict a photo of a protein bar in its David packaging against a white background, absent ad copy or calls to action.

“When going into the subway, getting on the train, you get bombarded with all kinds of visuals, and…there’s all this information hitting you from all sides,” Ghanem said. “Having a white face calls for your attention and actually allows us to stand out.”

The omnipresence of David in New York City stores was important to making the campaign work, Harmon said, noting that the campaign is designed to reach those who already have a general awareness of the brand.

“It wasn’t to scream at you in any way,” he said, but rather to “[give consumers] the opportunity to sit with the brand and say, ‘Okay, what does this mean?’”

Maxxed out?

As the protein market becomes increasingly saturated, Ghanem said David’s approach is to avoid tapping into trends like “protein-maxxing” and position the brand as part of a science-based diet. That’s driven the brand to partner with health influencers like neuroscientist and podcast host Andrew Huberman. David previously had a chief science officer, Peter Attia, but he stepped down earlier this month after he appeared in the Epstein files. The David team is “still assessing its options” about a possible replacement.

Looking ahead, Ghanem said to expect new product lines and partnerships. The campaign with Fox, she said, is the brand’s first step in a new strategy direction that she said is designed to build brand voice and with content that aims to be “engaging, not too fancy,” and not too focused on sales.

“The goal is to be able to build a great company and keep everyone excited and invested in the long-term,” she said.