Things escalated fast after David Protein dropped the news that it acquired Epogee for $75 million. That’s the company behind the low-calorie fat replacer used in their bars, known as EPG.
Now, David Protein is being sued
Three food brands—OWN Your Hunger, Lighten Up Foods, and Defiant Foods—have filed a federal lawsuit in New York, accusing David cofounder Peter Rahal, Linus Technology (aka David Protein), and Epogee of quietly working together to lock down control of the ingredient.
According to the filing, that control comes at the expense of every other company that had been using it.
The lawsuit claims the move violates federal antitrust laws and New York’s Donnelly Act, calling it a deliberate attempt to create a monopoly.
Before the deal, brands say they were encouraged to build entire product lines around EPG—a fat alternative that behaves like regular fat but has a fraction of the calories. And they did. They spent months on R&D, manufacturing setups, and full-on marketing campaigns, all based on the assumption that they’d have continued access.
But once David bought Epogee, that access allegedly disappeared.
Lighten Up Foods founder shares his story
The lawsuit got attention on TikTok after a video from user Blake (@thenutritionnarc), the founder of Lighten Up Foods, started making the rounds.
In the video, which has more than 458,000 views, Blake explains how the David Protein acquisition derailed months of work.
Over the past eight months, he says, he’d been working on a low-calorie chicken sauce using EPG as the key ingredient.
“It’s basically a zero calorie fat,” he explains. “This ingredient allowed me to get a rich flavor without any of the extra calories.”
He says once he finalized the flavor, he went to place an order with Epogee—and was met with silence.
“Up until this point, they’ve been nothing but helpful… providing samples, their food scientists, everything I needed,” he says
That’s when he learned David Protein had bought Epogee—and, allegedly, shut everyone else out.
“At this point, I’ve invested over $40,000 into the sauce of my own money,” he shares. “And now I’m no longer able to get one of the main ingredients in my sauce.”
He says there’s no real substitute for EPG on the market, which means compromising either on calories or taste—something he’s not willing to do.
Toward the end of the video, he confirms his company, Lighten Up Foods, is part of the lawsuit.
“Are they really that worried about a little TikToker and a sauce?” he asks sarcastically. “Apparently.”
Still, he insists he’s not backing down.
“It’s not about the money. It’s about the principle.”
@thenutritionnarc Please watch the whole thing it’s all I ask#greenscreen ♬ original sound – Blake | NARC
Commenters are outraged
In the comments, viewers weren’t shy about how they felt.
“David Bar respect [decreasing emoji],” wrote one user.
“Damn they have DEEP pockets. Founder of David Bar (Peter Rahl) sold RXBar to Kellogg’s for $600m,” another pointed out. “Inshallah you win bro.”
And someone else added, “I haven’t bought a david bar. Now i never will.”
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