A sports drink worth several thousand francs? What the ‘Prime’ hype is all about A path full of corpses – you need strong nerves to climb Everest

A true spectacle took place in Great Britain in the last days of 2022. The scene: Aldi stores all over the island. You can see what exactly happened in the video:

The reason for the huge rush to Aldi branches across Great Britain was an announcement from Aldi itself: on December 28, 2022, the supermarket chain announced that it would have the currently coveted sports drink “Prime Hydration” in its range the next day. Even before the stores opened, there were already queues in front of the Aldi branches on December 29.

Hype about an internet phenomenon

“Prime Hydration” is a sports drink from the two YouTubers Logan Paul and “KSI”. Together, the two YouTubers have nearly 50 million subscribers to the video platform — most of them teens and children.

The drink promises to be a healthy thirst quencher. It is sugar-free and, according to the manufacturers, contains ten percent coconut water, BCAAs, antioxidants, electrolytes and zinc. It was launched almost exactly a year ago – on January 8, 2022. After the launch, the drink was initially sold only in the US, where it sold out in four days. Sales in Great Britain also started on July 17, first exclusively at the supermarket chain “Asda” and a month later also at the stadium of Arsenal FC. As before in the US, the hype surrounding the drink on the island made it extremely difficult to get your hands on the drink.

Why is the drink so popular?

To understand the hype, you first need to know the history of the two faces behind “Prime”. The American Logan Paul was actually a failed YouTube star. At the end of 2017, he visited the Aokigahara – a forest in Japan, better known as the “suicide forest” – for a video and filmed a corpse there. Although he publicly apologized afterwards, his career was in danger of coming to an end.

The Englishman “KSI” prevented this by challenging Logan Paul to a boxing match. This was billed as “the biggest event in the history of the Internet” and was actually a success. He gave the two million dollars in revenue.

Since the fight ended in a draw, there was a second – “KSI” narrowly won. During a live announcement on Instagram — in which many expected Paul to retaliate — the pair explained that they’d buried the hatchet and would be releasing drinks together. This is how the story about “Prime” took its course.

High demand leads to “black” or secondary market

This resulted in the original fame of the drink. Because the supply in Britain could not meet the demand, a kind of “black market” was created for the drink. Although it was apparently never available at “Asda” or always immediately sold out, it suddenly appeared (too expensive) in gas station shops and newsstands.

In an interview, “KSI” accused “Asda” employees – they would never put the drinks on the shelf, but sell them above the value itself. The drink was also resold on eBay at exorbitant prices – individual bottles were even successfully auctioned for several thousand pounds, according to reports from the UK.

The continued high demand has even meant that there is now one apartment which shows where «Prime» drinks are sold and in stock. (lzo)

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