PRIME Hydration is a new energy drink that has taken the world by storm, with bottles flogged for over £50,000 on Ebay.
The drink, founded by YouTube stars KSI and Logan Paul, is so popular that supermarkets have seen stampedes of customers and parents wrestling kids out of the way to get their hands on a bottle.
Prime Hydration is in high demand after becoming an online sensationCredit: Simon Jones
The brand was founded by Youtube stars KSI (left) and Logan Paul (right)Credit: themediaeye
Customers have wrestled each other to get their hands on a bottleCredit: Twitter – @chels_kr1s
Individual 500ml bottles are selling for up to £10,000 on EbayCredit: EBay
It sold out “in seconds” when it hit shelves in Aldi this week, it’s exclusive UK stockists after taking over from Asda, and has to be rationed to one of each flavour per customer.
Huge queues formed outside stores from the early hours of the morning as shoppers are desperate to buy it.
Described as the first ‘viral drink’, the Prime craze led to reports of kids being bullied to surrender bottles, the product being given security tags and a 17-year-old in Kent being arrested for stealing a case, then later released pending investigation.
Shocking footage emerged yesterday of adults pushing young children out of the way at an Aldi in Sydenham, East London to try and get hold of just a few bottles.
CELEB ORIGINS
Prime was announced by its celeb creators on social media to their combined 140 million followers in January 2022 and promoted around a string of high-profile celebrity boxing matches.
KSI, whose real name is Olajide Olatunji, is one of the UK’s most famous YouTube creators. He has also dabbled in celebrity boxing and music.
Logan Paul is an American internet celebrity who found fame, along with his brother Jake, through often controversial online videos.
His other ventures have included work as an actor, podcaster, boxer and WWE wrestler.
Paul also owns the most expensive Pokemon card in the world.
The duo, themselves long-time boxing rivals, came together to launch the brand after their final fight in 2019.
During the live stream, the pair said they wanted to “rival the biggest companies on earth” with their products – including “Pepsi, Coke, Gatorade and Powerade”.
It found viral fame after a TikTok clip showed a girl being charged £145 for six bottles by a shop in Wakefield.
Chancers on Ebay were later found to be selling a 12 pack for £50,000 while single bottles are currently available for a whopping £10,000 (although delivery is included).
Even corner shops were boosting their prices by more than five times to £15 a bottle.
For comparison, the standard retail price of a single 500ml bottle is meant to be just £1.99
The demand is so extreme that some people have even paid for empty bottles to refill with another drink and post on social media.
Secret Whizzkids
However, despite Paul and KSI being the faces of the brand, The Sun on Sunday recently revealed that US businessmen Trey Steiger and Max Clemons were the secret whizzkids behind it.
Steiger and Clemons own Congo Brands, the firm which created Prime, as part of a drinks empire that experts say is set to be worth more than £85 million.
Prime is referred to as a ‘hydration drink’ by its YouTube star founders because its ingredients set it apart from similar brands.
While often seen as equivalent to something like Red Bull or Gatorade, Prime is not technically an energy drink as it does not contain caffeine.
It is also low-calorie and contains no added sugar.
Instead, it is made mostly of water and coconut water with added vitamins and minerals.
It comes in seven flavours, including ice pop, blue raspberry, grape and lemon lime.
OVER-HYPED?
The sports drink has received mixed reviews since being released this year.
One person said: “It’s a smooth drink, and tastes fresh but is absolutely nothing groundbreaking in terms of flavour.”
While another said: “The product tastes wonderful. This cold drink is a must-have on hot summer days.”
A third commented: “The aftertaste is terrible and it lingers around in your saliva every time you swallow.”
After yesterday’s chaotic scenes, an Aldi spokesperson sought to reassure disappointed customers.
They said: “We’re sorry that some customers were unable to get their hands on this product, however, demand has been extremely high.
“We limited purchases to one of each variant per customer so that as many customers as possible had a chance to buy it.”
Long queues have formed outside stores and stock have sold out ‘within seconds’Credit: SWNS
The drink is meant to sell for £1.99 per bottleCredit: EBay
Shocking footage showed adults shoving children out of the way to snap up just a couple of bottlesCredit: Facebook/mark.hall.1238