This season’s hottest accessory is gold, shiny and… edible.

It’s a David bar, a $3.99 low-calorie protein bomb that has taken social media — and the fashion world — by storm.

“Very chic patients of mine carry them,” said Dr Amanda Kahn, an Upper East Side internal medicine doctor and “longevity expert” known for doling out microdoses of Ozempic and peptide injections to her well-heeled clients.

“It looks chic and sleek,” Kahn said. “And it goes with your Miu Miu bag for fashion week.”

In our age of Ozempic, body optimisation and weightlifting for women, protein has emerged as the “it” substance. The micronutrient helps build muscle mass, regulate insulin levels and, as Kahn put it, “change body composition”.

As a result, David Bars — named after Michelangelo’s famous marble hunk — have taken off. Launched in September 2024 and backed by $10 million in seed funding, its founders Peter Rahal and Zach Ranenthe designed the bar with one goal in mind: to pack in the greatest amount of protein with the least amount of calories.

The sticky, sweet rectangles — which come in nine flavours including salted peanut butter, chocolate-chip cookie dough and pumpkin spice — boast a whopping 28 grams of protein but contain just 150 calories and under 3 grams of fat. David’s closest competitors, Quest and Pure, top out at 21 grams and contain between 180 and 200 calories and between seven and 13 grams of fat.

In its first four months David has sold $10 million worth of bars, and the company’s owners are projecting more than $100 million in sales for 2025.

The snack company’s chic autumn campaign

DAVID PROTEIN

Now David is courting the fashion and beauty crowd, with an autumn campaign featuring a young woman flitting down the Manhattan sidewalk in a tasteful trench that whispers “quiet luxury”.

It also had a presence at New York Fashion Week last month, plying models with their guilt-free treats backstage. That’s where the 24-year-old model Shawn George had her first David Bar.

Shawn George says the protein bars are in vogue among her model friends

TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER JOHN BECK

George — a former Miss Guyana contestant who is studying biochemistry at Queens College — began modelling a year and a half ago. This September, she noticed a free stack of David bars at the Supermodel Project, a nonprofit that offers free meals and support to models during Fashion Week, and took a load to eat during shows and castings.

“I was surprised that they tasted good,” said George, nibbling on a David peanut butter and chocolate bar before a Brooklyn Fashion Week event last Sunday.

George with her favourite protein bar

TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER JOHN BECK

She was not alone. “It’s funny because my model friends and I play this game that’s like, ‘What do we have in our model bag?’” George said, referencing the TikTok and Instagram trend. “We dump everything out, and there’s like [a] mini make-up [kit], comp cards [showing snapshots from their portfolios], water, heel pads, cushions, deodorant, lotion, a book for long waits… and five to ten David protein bars.”

“I do think it has this model flare,” George added. “Like, when you have one of your protein bars in your bag you whip it out, you just feel very chic, very minimalist.”

Emmy Clinton, a Colorado-based recipe developer and founder of the website Entirely Emmy, said she first noticed the bars on Instagram and decided to try them because of “the cute packaging”.

“It just looked so high-end,” said Clinton, 27. She is now consuming them as part of her training for an Ironman competition, and said they were an easy way to get a quick boost after workouts. “I’m obsessed with the cinnamon roll flavour,” she adds.

Yet some health professionals question whether we need so much protein at all.

David bars are able to pack in so much of the substance efficiently thanks to something called EPG — or esterified propoxylated glycerol, a fat substitute made from rapeseed or canola oil that has been modified so fewer calories are absorbed by the human body. With EPG, the bars can retain the creamy texture and mouthfeel of a fat-laden chocolate or peanut-butter bar with a tiny fraction of the calories. (In May, David bought Epogee, the company that manufactures EPG, limiting other companies from using the substance; several competitors have filed an antitrust lawsuit against David.)

Nikita Kapur, a registered dietitian and owner of Nikita Kapur Nutrition, said the protein craze was concerning because it meant we “deprioritise other essential nutrients, like fibre. Believe it or not, a lot of patients don’t get enough fibre, and most of us get a decent amount of protein”.

“It also does not account for the quality of protein,” Kapur added. “Eating a bowl of yoghurt with fruit and seeds is different from drinking a 20-gram protein shake.” Yoghurt has calcium and probiotics, which are great for gut health; fruits are loaded with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, and seeds boast protein, fibre and healthy fats — while many protein powders and protein bars mainly offer protein alone.

“Protein is essential,” Kapur said. “It plays a very crucial role in cell repair, regulating insulin levels, promoting good muscle mass … but we need other nutrients too, distributed throughout the day.”

Nutritionists say we need a variety of nutrients, warning against an exclusive focus on protein

DAVID PROTEIN

In fact, David bars contain very little besides protein and a host of artificial ingredients: no vitamins (at least listed on the label), one gram of dietary fibre and 7 grams of sugar alcohols, which health professionals say can cause bloating and have a laxative effect on those with gastrointestinal issues. David Protein does not label what kind of sugar alcohol it uses in its bars, and the company did not respond to The Times for comment.

But there is one group that unquestionably benefits from an extra jolt of protein: those on GLP-1 medications like Ozempic, which Kapur said can lead to a rapid loss of muscle.

“GLP-1 medications are awesome,” said Darren Smith, a plastic surgeon based on the Upper East Side who uses GLP-1s like Zepbound. “But like many people, I kind of plateaued with it at a certain point.” That meant the 46-year-old had to start working out with a trainer and eating a daily David bar.

And while he is not a fan of every flavour — they do have a distinctively artificial aftertaste — that is not the point. “I don’t think there’s another bar on the market that can get 28 grams of protein out of 150 calories,” Smith said. “That’s pretty cool.”

Rafe Gomez, 61, a consultant based in Montclair, New Jersey, agrees. He said he eats David Bars to keep him full — but not bloated — during his weekly Thursday night Twitch DJ set.

“I’m standing for three hours, so I needed to be physically comfortable and careful about what I’m eating,” he said. He tried different protein bars, but some were too sugary or too calorific. Then, this year, he saw a row of shiny gold bars with the word “David” in a simple serif font at his local grocery store, and was “so impressed by how much protein it had in it, I bought a selection of them”.

Now it’s part of his weekly regime, even though Gomez admits he is probably not the brand’s target customer.

“I’m not someone who’s into optimisation. I don’t keep a chart. I’m just trying to stay healthy and have energy throughout the day.”