The ‘hydration drink’ was created by millionaire YouTubers Logan Paul and KSI (Picture: Prime)
A new sports drink created by YouTubers is causing a frenzy among teenagers – and they’re resorting to extreme measures to get hold of it.
Prime is marketed as a ‘hydration drink’ which contains mostly water and coconut water with added vitamins and minerals, and comes in a variety of different flavours including ice pop, blue raspberry, grape and lemon lime.
It is not an energy drink as it does not contain caffeine, and is low calorie with no added sugar, making it fairly healthy.
Children are asking their parents to travel far and wide to find Prime, which is currently only being sold in Asda stores in the UK and in Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium, as the club is its drinks partner.
But demand is vastly outstripping supply, and some children are so desperate they are turning to bullying and even crime to get hold of it.
One parent told MailOnline: ‘A mum I know sent her 10-year-old off to the park on Sunday to let off some steam.
‘A small group of teenagers – two boys and a girl – were hanging about in the park and told him to give them his drink. He refused and he was punched in the face and obviously left very upset and traumatised.
‘Kids are getting bullied into handing them over at school too. I think they are becoming social currency amongst kids and unfortunately that can also bring violence.’
British YouTuber KSI, 29, is a co-founder of Prime drinks (Picture: Getty Images)
He joined professional wrestler Logan Paul, 27, in business after they called a truce on their boxing rivalry (Picture: Richfreeda)
Last month police in Ashford, Kent, arrested a 17-year-old on suspicion of stealing a case of the drinks from Asda.
Kent Police in Ashford tweeted on October 10: ‘Officers conducting proactive patrolling today sighted a male suspected to be a person sought from CCTV.
‘They arrested him for theft from Asda of a case of Prime drink. He is our “Prime” suspect… (other drinks are available.)’
Prime has sold out online and Asda stores are limiting purchases to no more than three per customer to stop people from buying every bottle in the supermarket and selling them on.
People are even resorting to eBay, with one listing showing 87 bottles have been sold for £22.99 each. One seller has even listed one for £100,000.
The official list price for a single bottle is £2 and a case of 12 online is listed at £24.99.
Parents have written about how baffled they are online over their children’s obsession with the drink.
One mum, Lisa Smith, spent weeks waking up at 6am trying to buy the drink and eventually surprised daughter Jessie with it in a video (Picture: SWNS)
Jessie, 9, was thrilled to finally have her hands on the sought-after drink (Picture: SWNS)
Actor Michelle Gayle tweeted: ‘This Prime drink has my son and his friends in a chokehold. They’re obsessed.
‘Someone gave him a bottle of it and he dished out capfuls of it to his very grateful best friends. Wtf?!
‘He asked me to drive miles away to an Asda. And now has decided to support Arsenal because they sell the drink.’
Someone called Benjie replied: ‘It’s ridiculous… my son has been on a hunt for a bottle of Prime for weeks even woke up at 5.30am on a school day to try and get some from our local Asda store.’
A group of teenagers had been queuing outside an Asda in Teeside from 6am waiting for the supermarket to open – then rushed in and cleared the shelves of Prime.
At least one school has even banned the drink, saying it was causing a ‘small issue’ among children.
A screenshot from a school email, which has not been named, was posted on Twitter and read: ‘We have noticed some students are bringing these drinks into school.
‘This is causing a lot of disturbance during the school day due to their popularity and some students are truing to buy these drinks from others for heightened prices.
‘For these reasons we have taken the decision to ban these drinks from school.’
Prime was launched by millionaire YouTubers KSI and Logan Paul, who have more than 50 million subscribers between them.
The huge popularity of the drink is likely due to their huge, young fanbase. The pair rose to fame after being amateur boxing rivals for years before coming together in their business venture.
They said: ‘We’re excited to announce Prime to the world and showcase what happens when rivals come together as brothers and business partners. Our goal was to create a fantastic hydration drink that can fuel any lifestyle.
‘Over the past year, we’ve worked countless hours to formulate the product from scratch, lock in deals with the largest retailers in the world, and build a multi-hundred person team to get our products to the shelves.
‘We’re humbled by the process of creating a real brand and look forward to competing with some of the biggest beverage companies in the world. As underdogs, we always cherish the opportunity to show the world what’s possible.
‘Now that we’re both fighting for the same team, we truly believe the sky is the limit.’
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The popular drink was created by millionaire YouTubers Logan Paul and KSI.
