Peter Rahal

Peter Rahal
Rahal in 2022
Born	Glen Ellyn, Illinois, U.S.
Education	Wittenberg University (2008)
Occupation	Business executive
Known for	Co-founder of Rxbar and David Protein

Peter Rahal is an American entrepreneur and investor. He is a co-founder of Rxbar (formerly CEO), which he and childhood friend Jared Smith founded in 2013 and sold to the Kellogg Company for $600 million in 2017. In September 2024, Rahal founded David Protein, a New York-based protein bar company.

Early life and education

Rahal was raised in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, and is of Lebanese descent. His father's side of the family were ingredient suppliers and his mother's side were juice entrepreneurs. He was diagnosed with dyslexia before attending high school. He studied political science and government at Wittenberg University in Ohio, earning a bachelor's degree. After graduating, he worked and studied in Belgium and Beirut before returning to the United States, and later worked in transportation logistics at a transportation brokerage startup before co-founding Rxbar.

Career

RXBAR

In 2013, Rahal and childhood friend Jared Smith co-founded Chicago Bar Co., the producer of RXBAR, making the first bars in the basement of Rahal's parents' home in Glen Ellyn with an initial investment of $10,000. Initially marketed to the CrossFit community, the brand became known for its minimalist packaging. Rahal has said he recognized that CrossFitters, who tended to follow Paleo-style diets, were an underserved market for a bar built around unprocessed ingredients, and that he began pitching gym owners directly on stocking his product. The front-of-package ingredient list and the phrase "No B.S." became central to the brand's identity.

In October 2017, the Kellogg Company acquired RXBAR for $600 million. Rahal remained CEO of RXBAR for 18 months following the acquisition.

David Protein

In September 2024, Rahal founded David, a New York-based protein bar brand operating under food technology company Linus Technology, Inc. He is CEO. The brand, named after Michelangelo's David, launched in September 2024 with a bar containing 28 grams of protein, zero sugar, and 150 calories. The bar's protein-to-calorie ratio depends on esterified propoxylated glycerol (EPG), a fat substitute that resists lipase, the enzyme that breaks down fat in the body, so that little of its caloric content is absorbed during digestion.

David was valued at $725 million in 2025. Investors include Andrew Huberman, who backed the company's earlier seed round. Rahal used part of the company's $75 million Series A funding to acquire Epogee, the sole manufacturer of EPG, after which David limited other companies' access to EPG.

Rahal was sued in 2025 over an alleged attempt to monopolize EPG. The suit, brought by OWN Your Hunger, Lighten Up Foods, and Defiant Foods, alleged David had created an artificial monopoly over EPG. Plaintiffs Ruz Safai and Blake Sanburg have said they lost access to EPG despite years of product development built around the ingredient. Rahal has said affected customers should have had long-term supply agreements in place; Safai has countered that Epogee never offered such agreements before the acquisition. The suit was dismissed in February 2026. A separate class action, filed in January 2026, alleged the company understated the bars' calorie and fat content on its labels. That suit was withdrawn in March 2026.

In 2025, David began selling packages of wild-caught Pacific cod, which Rahal has described as both a marketing device and a sincere product extension. He later discontinued the product, saying it did not achieve product-market fit.

Business views

Rahal has said GLP-1 weight-loss medications are ending the historical cycle of fad diets and are the primary driver of rising protein consumption, and has argued that "processed" should not be treated as an inherently negative label, since nutrient content matters more than degree of processing. On building a company, he has maintained that a sale is not the ultimate goal.

Rahal has described his general approach to public controversy as responding quickly and directly, at times using humor in the company's official responses, arguing that a slow or defensive response cedes control of the narrative. Inc. has described Rahal as "the CPG industry's most polarizing CEO".

Personal life

Rahal married Charlotte Coquelin, a French model, in 2024. They have a son together.