Inside David Protein's Playful and Provocative Billion-Dollar Playbook

Fresh off an ice cream launch, Peter Rahal opens up about trolling, how to survive bad press, and what’s next for the CPG industry’s most polarizing CEO. BY JENNIFER CONRAD, SENIOR WRITER @JENNIFERCONRAD The rolling billboards with muscle-bound cows were the first clue, circling the Expo West convention center in Anaheim, California, in early March. Then came the social media posts: “break the ice,” “something sweet is coming.” David Protein’s ice cream launch seemed to be the worst-kept secret in the world of consumer products. But instead of ice cream, Peter Rahal, David’s co-founder and CEO, swerved to a surprise launch in May: tinned cod, complete with a Times Square billboard and a Steve Jobs-style video that played the launch as if it were the iPhone of canned fish. “We kind of slow-played the launch and threw some decoys in there,” says Rahal, 40, when we chat on June 1, the day the New York City-based protein provocateur finally launched its long-awaited ice cream. “We’ve been

Fresh off an ice cream launch, Peter Rahal opens up about trolling, how to survive bad press, and what’s next for the CPG industry’s most polarizing CEO. BY JENNIFER CONRAD, SENIOR WRITER @JENNIFERCONRAD The rolling billboards with muscle-bound cows were the first clue, circling the Expo West convention center in Anaheim, California, in early March. Then came the social media posts: “break the ice,” “something sweet is coming.” David Protein’s ice cream launch seemed to be the worst-kept secret in the world of consumer products. But instead of ice cream, Peter Rahal, David’s co-founder and CEO