I went looking for Prime – and found empty shelves, greedy dealers and rumours of a shady black market
YOUNGSTER Chris Majer proudly clutches his most prized possession – a small bottle of Prime Hydration drink.
And it is the hottest commodity in the UK right now.
Marketed as a sport drink, to “help you refresh, replenish, and refuel”, it contains B vitamins, electrolytes and coconut water.
Invented by YouTubers KSI and Logan Paul, it was released in June last year and still has thousands of kids — or their parents — scrambling to snap up any of its eight flavours.
Even celebrities are using their star power to try to shortcut the queues, with Wayne Rooney pestering KSI for a bottle for son Kit’s seventh birthday in January and Stacey Solomon getting in touch to say she couldn’t find any on the supermarket shelves.
This led to many sellers cashing in with sky-high prices.
One off-licence in Wakefield, West Yorks, was reportedly flogging the drink for £100 a bottle.
And on eBay, it is being sold there at price tags often well over its supermarket price tag of £2.
So if you’re not a celeb and you are not ready to splash out that much, how easy is it to get a bottle?
I took to the streets to find out . . .
At my local shop in Borehamwood, Herts, I was told a bottle will set me back £10.
When I asked why it is being sold at such an inflated price, the shop manager said with a smile: “It’s sold out everywhere. Some are even selling for higher.”
Right on cue, two teenagers come in to ask for the drinks.
And they are not put off when they hear how much it is.
After a brief squabble about who should pay, one pulled out a tenner but warned his pal that he would only get a small swig.
Prime is most popular with the kids who catapulted rivals-turned-friends Brit KSI, 29, and 26-year-old American Jake Paul into social media stars.
Since the drink launched it had been available for £2 from Asda, Aldi and Spar.
Premier League club Arsenal announced a partnership with the brand a month later, making the drinks available for fans at their Emirates Stadium on match days.
Sainsbury’s last month started stocking the drink, and due to the large volume of calls it receives about the product, issued a statement saying: “Our Contact Centre colleagues don’t have any further information on the stock of Prime drinks currently available.
“If you’d like to know the availability of Prime drinks in your local store, please visit the store itself.”
‘Who knows when we will get more stock’
When I visited one of the capital’s biggest Sainsbury’s in New Cross Gate, South East London, the shelves are bare and a security guard told me the drinks are normally put aside by staff because of the mad rush to snap them up.
He added: “We stocked Prime for the first time three weeks ago and it sold out straight away. Who knows when we will get more stock?”
A quick search for Prime on social media reveals videos of frantic parents grappling with kids to prise the drinks out of their hands.
There are also scenes of teens rioting in supermarkets as they struggle to get their hands on the prized goods.
With some trepidation, I head to Asda’s massive Clapham Junction store in South West London.
When I ask if they have any available, the staff practically laugh in my face.
“That’s been sold out for a week now,” I’m told.
“We can’t put it on the shelves. Its behind the desk at customer service, and when it’s gone, its gone.”
I’m given a tip-off that there are bottles available at an off-licence in Becontree, East London, so I head there on the Tube.
Sure enough, there are bottles available — but for £10 a time.
I hand over my money but the shop owner grills me about whether I plan to resell it.
He adds: “We don’t get them from the manufacturers. Guys who come in here and sell them to us, then we sell them on.
As I leave Becontree, Prime drink in hand, I feel like every eye is on me, so I decide to find out how Londoners feel about the 500ml fad.
Rafi Onnie, 19, told me that although he sees the appeal, he does not like the idea of greedy sellers taking advantage of kids.
He said: “The resale price for it is crazy. I just came from a shop and it was £20 and there are a lot of people buying it. I think it’s pretty much a scam. Hopefully this is a phase that people grow out of.
“I get that when kids see KSI and Logan Paul they get excited but I feel bad for the parents who have to pay for that kind of thing.”
For mum-of-five Charlotte Hermon, 33, giving her kids the drinks, which come in flavours including blue raspberry, tropical punch and lemon and lime, is not an option.
She told me: “It’s absolutely ridiculous. I would never give it to my children. My kids say they want it all the time. They see it in the shops and I say, ‘Nope, not having it’.
“They see it on TikTok and YouTube and I think it’s bad for young children.”
Tracey Barrage, 62, who tasted one of the flavours after her 32-year-old son bought it, said: “It’s a vile drink. It tastes like melted-down candyfloss with an aftertaste.
“I think they are supermarket workers.”
“It just goes to show how much money kids these days have got and how much they’re willing to spend on rubbish and making someone else very rich.”
Her sentiment is shared by fundraiser Charlotte Cole, 29, who explains her cousins are keen to get their hands on Prime.
“It’s ridiculous and these shops are profiting from mostly younger people,” she says.
“Making them spend hundreds of pounds on a bottle is morally wrong. It’s just a drink.”
But what is in it? Prime Hydration is marketed as helping drinkers “refresh, replenish and refuel”.
It is made from ten per cent coconut water, B vitamins, electrolytes, antioxidants and BCAA — essential amino acids — for muscle recovery.
Nutritionist Hannah Macey said: “There is nothing special in this drink that you would not get from water, a sip of coconut water and a well-balanced meal.”
Unlike most energy drinks, it doesn’t contain caffeine or sugar — but the artificial sweetners could contribute to weight gain.
For young people, it’s not just a drink.
Posting Prime on their social media pages scores them countless cool points.
And recently Logan revealed that in a single year, Prime Hydration has made more than £200million in retail sales.
As for ten-year-old Chris, delighted to have finally secured the drink of his dreams, it doesn’t take long for his bubble to burst.
Round the corner, he finds another shop selling Prime for £13 — £7 less than he just paid for it.
It’s a tough market — and if you want to get your hands on the goods, you better have the energy for it.
So what does it taste like?
MY bottle of Prime was the limited edition orange and mango flavour, writes The Sun’s Kevin Adjei-Darko.
On first taste it reminded me of fruit juice J2O, a personal favourite, though the flavour was quite strong and a bit too sugary for my liking.
When it comes to that promise to “refresh, replenish and refuel” an hour after consumption I felt as tired as I did before.
But it has only 20 calories, considerably less than many competitors.
Though at £10 a pop, I’ll stick to cheaper alternatives.