YouTube creators Logan Paul and KSI joined forces in January 2022 to create the online phenomenon, Prime Hydration Energy Drink. The pair have stated that their new product range was ‘created to showcase what happens when rivals come together as brothers and business partners to fill the void where great taste meets function.’ But with plenty of other options on the market, why is Prime in such high demand?
Prime is a hydration drink containing coconut water and electrolytes. The product was officially priced at £2 a bottle or £24.99 for a case of 12 when initially launched.But due to the surge in popularity among Gen Z and lack of opportunity to buy the product, Prime is now being sold on the black market.
American YouTuber Logan Paul has a total of 22.6M subscribers whilst UK based KSI has 24M subscribers. Both creators have capitalised on their vast audience and ability to influence younger consumers through dedicated video ads surprising fans or going undercover in stores where the product is sold to create a viral sensation.
The popularity of both creators has led to a sense of urgency to purchase and join in on the hype of Prime Energy seeing immense queue flooding stores in search of the product.
Retailers have taken advantage of consumers by reselling Prime at increasingly higher price points. The chaotic scenes across stores in the UK led to founder, KSI, speaking publicly about the resale issues in a video calling out one store named ‘Wakey Wines’ who have created multiple TikTok videos sharing that customers have paid up to £100 for a single drink. The account has now been banned from the platform.
Despite this demand, reviews on the actual taste of the product haven't all been positive, demonstrating the power of YouTube creators over the quality of a product.
YouTube creators have a huge influence on product success within younger target markets, as a whopping 77% of Gen Z watch Youtube daily. Creators are able to build deep community connections during long-form content, and therefore have credibility and trust when it comes to products. Although the rise of TikTok suggests short-form is more popular, Gen Z are just as likely to watch 20+ minutes of video.
The Prime Energy drink has caused controversies on whether the product is being ethically marketed considering the younger target market. But this hasn’t stopped the UFC from announcing that Prime will be the Official Global Sports Drink partner. This partnership is set to include multiple branched integrations across a range of UFC events building significant brand visibility to an estimation of 900 million TV households across 175 countries.
Prime Energy is an impressive example of using creators to drive sales. Get in touch to discuss your next Influencer Marketing campaign here.
