A legal and ethical firestorm is hitting viral protein bar brand David Protein after its controversial buyout of Epogee, the company behind a low-calorie fat substitute known as EPG. The ingredient, which is crucial to many high-protein, low-calorie snacks, was abruptly pulled from market access after the acquisition, leaving small brands scrambling and sparking a lawsuit alleging monopolistic and collusive practices.
What is the David Bar controversy? Small brands say David Protein cut off access to key ingredient EPG
In May 2025, David Protein bought out Epogee LLC, which makes esterified propoxylated glycerol (EPG). This fat substitute product makes those high-protein and low-calorie bars, cookies, and other products possible. Every gram of EPG has less than one-tenth the calories of a gram of normal fat.
Soon after the buyout, Epogee suddenly announced that it would no longer be selling EPG to other companies. According to the lawsuit, the David Bars maker purchased and stockpiled two years’ worth of the ingredient before that announcement.
Without EPG, competitors like Own Your Hunger, Lighten Up Foods, and Defiant Foods can’t make the same products they’ve been successfully selling for years. These three companies are now the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, which accuses David Protein of “secretive and collusive conduct” and illegal monopolization tactics.
“These brands fundamentally restructured their entire business models around EPG as their core competitive advantage and ‘secret sauce’ ingredient, making EPG access essential to their survival,” the suit claims. “Epogee provided the bricks, while plaintiffs and other brands built the house.”
David Bars went viral—then killed the competition
Fitness and nutrition TikTok user Matt Rosenman (@mattrosenman) broke down the David Bar controversy in a video last week. He was getting ready to review the company’s protein bars after they skyrocketed in popularity in 2024, but then he heard what David Protein did.
Rosenman starts by introducing EPG and listing other companies that have used the ingredient to keep calorie content low since it came on the market years ago. David Bars happened to go viral, netting the company $75 million in funding, which it used to buy Epogee.
@mattrosenman Have you tried David Bars? Are they even worth the hype? It turns out that some of the small businesses that use EPG are now suing David…this is going to get interesting. I’m sure we’ll learn more about this in the near future, but man, I really hope something changes.
♬ original sound – Matt Rosenman
“Companies have built their entire business around this ingredient, and every product uses it, like Own Your Hunger,” he explained. “That’s a small business that David Bars have just eliminated.”
While some might dismiss this legally dubious practice as “just business,” Rosenman points out that business need not be cutthroat.
“It bothers me because you don’t have to do this,” he said.
“To get rid of existing products that are on market that consumers really enjoy, that have been doing it first, is so messed up to me.”
Commenters on his video seemed to agree. “Please keep spreading this they need to be boycotted,” wrote one user. “The thing is: monopolising EPG just screams insecurity. They wouldn’t need to bring other companies down if they had a good product to begin with,” wrote another. A third added, “I would be surprised if the courts allow this. It’s a monopoly through and through.”
Over on the r/Volumeeating Reddit sub, users are encouraging each other to pressure David Protein to reverse course in the face of the lawsuit.
“We could be looking at years for this to resolve,” wrote u/Loose_Client1401. “Why let David fight this? Go to their Instagram and let them hear how you feel. Put pressure on them to back down. It’s our health that should be at the top, not their profits.”
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