It has become a marketing sensation and status symbol amongst the greater teenage population that has seen queues form around Sandton, as parents and their kids wish to quench their PRIME thirst.

• PRIME is sold in a variety of different flavours globally including Blue Raspberry, Grape, Ice Pop, Lemon Lime, Meta Moon, Orange, Strawberry Watermelon and Tropical Punch.
• The drink has become the official sports drink of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
• PRIME comes in two formats: PRIME Hydration and PRIME Energy Drink.
• Visit www.sandtontimes.co.za for more stories.

A line of sports beverages, drink mixes, and energy drinks called PRIME debuted in 2022 and started being marketed by the YouTubers Logan Paul and KSI. A social media boom around these online personas, who collectively have about 100-million followers, erupted with PRIME rising to the top of a highly competitive beverage industry, in a matter of weeks.

First launched in the USA, United Kingdom and Australia, PRIME’s availability caused major excitement amongst Gen Z customers, resulting in thousands lining up overnight to get their hands on the popular drink, which has now become a viral collector’s item around the world.

The drink initially surfaced on South African social media, due to the unheard-of price point at which the sports drink was being sold – in some instances between R400 and R800 per 500ml bottle. The parallel imports were soon curbed by another announcement, this time from retail giant Checkers, who had secured PRIME at a tenth of the price as the official South African retail partner, going on sale at R40 a bottle and limited to 8 bottles per customer on May 1. And it looks like it’s been an uphill battle to keep shelves stocked.

Checkers launches with four PRIME Hydration flavours: Ice Pop, Blue Raspberry, Lemon Lime and Tropical Punch. According to the manufacturer, each 500ml bottle of PRIME has around 20 calories made up of 10% coconut water, with zero added sugar or caffeine, and contains electrolytes, vitamins A, E & Zinc and branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs). So popular is the PRIME mark, that some have been known to keep the empty bottle and refill it with water, quenching their status and actual thirst at the same time.

Britain’s Got Talent judge, Amanda Holden described PRIME as ‘the watery bit’ at the end of an ice pop from when you were little, whilst Gordon Ramsay gave it a notable zero out of ten during a Heart breakfast radio show interview in the UK.

While Logan Paul and KSI’s YouTube content and new beverage may not be to everyone’s taste, there is no stopping the flood of fans wanting their gulp of PRIME.

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