Boxer and rapper KSI and YouTuber-turned-WWE-star Logan Paul sure have hit the jackpot with their drinks company Prime, to the extent it’s sold for ridiculous prices, made one shop in Wakefield go viral, and even been reviewed by foul-mouthed chef Gordon Ramsay.
The collaboration between Paul and KSI (real name Olajide “JJ” Olatunji) was announced back in January last year, with the pair just recently touring Munich, Barcelona, Copenhagen and Oslo to promote the drink.
Prime has even become the drinks partner for both Arsenal and Barcelona football clubs.
However, such success has also caught the attention of legislators, with one US senator, Democrat Chuck Schumer, calling for the company to be investigated by the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA).
In a letter to the regulator, Mr Schumer wrote: “A simple search on social media for Prime will generate an eye-popping amount of sponsored content, which is advertising.
“This content and all the claims made should be investigated, along with the ingredients and the caffeine content in the Prime energy drink.”
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While Prime Hydration is caffeine-free, the Prime Energy brand contains 200mg of caffeine per 12 ounces, which is about the same as six cans of Coca-Cola or almost two Red Bulls.
On Twitter, Mr Schumer went further and claimed the drink contains so much of the stimulant that it “could endanger kids’ health”, but is being “marketed to kids” anyway.
“Parents and paediatricians are worried. The FDA must investigate Prime for its absurd caffeine content and its marketing targeting kids on social media,” he wrote.
Representatives for Prime, meanwhile, argue the product is clearly labelled as “not recommended for children under 18”.
Although the FDA is yet to announce an investigation into the drinks brand, and therefore it’s not yet at risk of being banned in the US, how much money would KSI and Logan Paul stand to lose if such a decision was ever taken?
Some insight into just how popular the brand is was given by Paul during an interview on the Australian radio show The Kyle and Jackie O Show in February, in which he said they had garnered “$250m in retail sales [and] $110m gross internally”.
“In January of this year, we did $45m,” he added.
But of course, Olatunji and Paul won’t see all of that money, with Prime being part of the Congo Brands company and the YouTuber duo reportedly having a combined share of 20 per cent in the brand.
Although we don't have the exact estimations, but we imagine the answer to the big question is that the pair would certainly lose a lot of money if they were blocked from selling in a market as big as America.
That’s yet to happen, though, and so instead, Prime looks to be getting more and more popular…
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