Prime (drink)
Prime Hydration, LLC is an American manufacturer of sports drinks, energy drinks, drink mixes and protein shakes owned by Congo LLC and Internet personalities Logan Paul and Olajide "KSI" Olatunji, who also promote the beverages.
Prime Hydration, the sports drink, was announced in January 2022, and became available in limited numbers from June 2022. The drink then became more widely available in late 2022 and early 2023, and was followed by a massive social media hype, causing limited availability in stores. Prime Hydration+ Sticks later followed, as well as Prime Energy cans. Sponsorship deals later followed with Arsenal F.C., Ultimate Fighting Championship and WWE, which have included limited edition bottle designs. Prime Protein was announced in January 2026.
From inception, the beverages caused controversy due to their levels of caffeine, electrolytes and added micronutrients, and have subsequently been banned in some schools. As of June 2025, the hydration drink has significantly declined in popularity since its 2023 heyday, and the energy cans and hydration sticks have been completely discontinued in some markets. Despite this, the drinks are still sold in major retailers and sponsorship deals with third-parties still remain.
Launch and reception
On January 4, 2022, YouTubers KSI and Logan Paul, with collectively more than 40 million YouTube subscribers and millions of followers on other platforms, announced on a live Instagram feed that they had founded a new drinks company known as Prime Hydration. Their involvement led to a social media hype around the product, which was followed by demand from school-age children, particularly teenage boys.According to the Evening Standard, the surge in demand caused high prices among online resellers, including an eBay listing offering twelve bottles for £400. Sky News reported that the release of the drink sparked "chaotic scenes" at Asda and Aldi supermarkets in the United Kingdom. A Financial Times article conveyed a London teacher's account of how children who only possessed used Prime bottles, filled with water, were "catapulted to higher status among their peers".
Mary McCarthy of The Independent, commenting on the way Prime was being marketed through social media, suggested that KSI and Logan Paul had undue influence on the product's main market—young boys—and that "cold, calculating big business" was working with individuals whose attitude towards women was questionable, and whose output was often misogynistic, aimed at boys "waiting to be told what to think".
Gordon Ramsay reviewed the drink on Heart radio, describing it as "like swallowing perfume", and giving it 0/10. Boxer Chris Eubank Jr. also tried the drink saying "It's very sweet, I mean it says it's naturally flavoured. It doesn't taste bad, but it's not a natural flavour of drink".
Bloomberg reported that Prime achieved sales of $250 million in 2022 and $1.2 billion in 2023. Sales of Prime in the UK declined 48% in 2024, making it the fastest falling food or drink brand according to consumer data from NielsenIQ.
Products
Prime Hydration, LLC is affiliated with Congo Brands, co-owned by American businessmen Max Clemons and Trey Steiger. In the United Kingdom, where the product was launched in June 2022, it was originally shipped from the United States, and is now manufactured by Refresco.The Prime labeling is used on energy drinks, sports drinks and drink mixes. The sports drinks, described by the manufacturer as "hydration drinks", are made up of 10 percent coconut water and contain electrolytes, B vitamins and BCAAs. The manufacturers state that this version of the product contains no added sugar, is caffeine-free, and has around 20 calories per bottle. It is sweetened with acesulfame potassium and sucralose, like many other sugar-free drinks.
- Prime Hydration flavors have included Tropical Punch, Orange, Lemonade, Lemon Lime, Blue Raspberry, Grape, Strawberry Watermelon, Ice Pop, Meta Moon, Orange and Mango, Glowberry, Cherry Freeze, Strawberry Lemonade, Strawberry Banana, Goalberry, Citrus Kiwiberry, Berry Freeze, Dragon Fruit Acai, Future Freeze, Sournova, Pineapple and Coconut, Watermelon Candy, Orange Kream, Strawberry Cream and Snowball Slushy.
- Prime Shakes, introduced in January 2026, have three flavors so far: Vanilla, Chocolate, and Cookies and Cream.
Smaller bottles of the Ice Pop, Cherry Freeze, and Strawberry Banana flavors are included in boxes of Lunchly, a brand of snack kits also created by KSI and Logan Paul alongside MrBeast. There is also a Prime "Ice" variety of the hydration drinks, with flavors including Red Chill, Blue Chill, and Orange.
The energy drink, which was launched in 2023, contains 200 mg of caffeine and shares several flavors with its sports drink counterpart. The company also produces Prime Hydration+ Sticks which have released special flavors in collaboration with the Dodgers baseball team, and with FC Bayern Munich.
Regulatory approval and legal status
Prime Energy drinks have generated controversy due to their marketing campaign, which has been criticized for media hype associated with their high concentration of caffeine. Several countries, jurisdictions, and primary and secondary schools have banned or restricted the drink due to its caffeine content exceeding legal limits, or otherwise being deemed unsafe for children. Prime Energy, which contains elevated levels of caffeine, has been banned or restricted from minors in multiple countries due to regulations limiting caffeine content. The drink has also been banned in schools in several countries.Australia
Several Australian schools have instituted bans on Prime Energy drinks, as a health risk to students due to its high caffeine levels. ABC News noted that the Food Standards Australia New Zealand legal limit for caffeine was 32 mg per 100 ml, while Prime contains around 56 mg per 100 ml. A sports dietician, who described the drink as an "addictive substance" went on to state that "giving a dose of caffeine to young children who've got ... developing cognitive function is not a wise idea". ABC noted that the drink, on sale in Woolworths stores, carried a disclaimer stating that the drink "is not suitable for children under the age of 15, pregnant or breastfeeding women, and should only be used under medical or dietetic supervision".In March 2023, several schools in Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia banned Prime Energy. In April, several New South Wales schools followed.
In April 2023, a store in Perth controversially allowed the sale of Prime Energy to minors.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
On November 30, 2023, the Federal Sanitary Inspection of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina prohibited the import of 1,596 bottles of Prime Ice Pop Hydration due to testing showing inaccuracies on the nutrition label.Canada
On July 12, 2023, Health Canada issued a recall on various caffeinated and non-bilingual-labeled drinks, including Prime. This decision came after many complaints of the high volume of caffeine in the product, which exceeds the maximum 180 mg allowed in Canada. Furthermore, food products sold in Canada must have bilingual packaging as both languages are official languages in Canada.Denmark
In Denmark, some retailers had begun parallel importing Prime beverages before an official launch of the product in the country. This led to issues as Prime Energy was not compliant with Danish regulations, as the drink's caffeine concentration exceeded the approved limit. The Danish Veterinary and Food Administration announced that it advised five retailers to pull the parallel imported product.In June 2023, Prime Hydration launched officially in the country, kicking off in Salling Group supermarkets and Circle K convenience stores. For the product to be compliant and distributed in the country, the Prime Hydration product had been modified to not contain vitamin A, and the Prime Energy drinks were not subject to sale, as they were above the regulatory limit for caffeine.
Latvia
In 2024, the Food and Veterinary Service of Latvia suspended imports of Prime Hydration into the country as a result of discrepancies between the Latvian-language label and the original English-language label. It ordered the company to immediately address its compliance with labelling regulations recently. The agency had already banned the sale of Prime Energy to minors due to its high caffeine content.Netherlands
On August 8, 2023, the Netherlands blocked the sale of Prime Energy due to its high caffeine content.New Zealand
In New Zealand, it is illegal to sell the original Prime Energy drink as it contains 579 mg of caffeine per litre, which is above the legal limit of 320 mg. Police Minister Ginny Andersen warned that businesses selling the product can face fines up to NZ$100,000.The drink was previously available on retail website Trade Me, but listings were removed following enquiries by media company Stuff.
A modified version is available in some New Zealand stores, with a lowered caffeine content of 310mg per litre.
Norway
In Norway, sales of both the Energy and Hydration variants were initially banned in 2023, but were both sold by import shops online or purchased from Sweden and then resold by consumers until authorities halted such sales in May 2023. Prime Hydration was initially barred from sales due to levels of vitamin A being above national regulations. In July 2023, a European variant was launched that adhered to European and Norwegian consumer standards and regulations. Prime Energy remained banned from sales as it contains 579 mg of caffeine per litre, which is above the Norwegian legal limit of 320 mg, but in 2024 a variant with reduced caffeine content became available in Norwegian stores.The brand and drink sparked controversy in June 2023, when creators Logan Paul and KSI visited Oslo as part of their European tour promoting the upcoming launch of the drink. The promotional event, which gathered more than 2,000 fans and was heavily advertised in social media, was criticized for the lack of security and organization, which led to 70 people needing medical attention due to heat and crowding.