Johannesburg - The hugely popular energy drink Prime is introducing an addition to their range, with Strawberry Watermelon launching exclusively at Checkers on Thursday, September 28, 2023.
Shoprite Group said in a statement that the new drink will be available at select Checkers and Checkers Hyper stores, as well as via Checkers Sixty60.
“PRIME Hydration is an ideal thirst quencher for consumers who wish to rehydrate, refuel, and replenish their energy levels, with zero added sugar or caffeine.
“Each 500ml bottle of the Strawberry Watermelon variant contains around 25 calories and is made up of 10% coconut water, with antioxidants, electrolytes, vitamins B, and branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs),” said the Shoprite Group.
According to the group, as the official South African retail partner for Prime Hydration, Checkers launched the Ice Pop, Blue Raspberry, Lemon Lime, and Tropical Punch flavours in stores countrywide earlier this year.
“Prime achieved international viral acclaim after its wildly successful launch in January 2022 by YouTube sensations Logan Paul and KSI,” said the group.
Earlier this year, the brand became a viral sensation in January 2022 thanks to YouTube sensations Logan Paul and KSI, who, combined, boast around 100 million social media followers.
In an article by The Star, CNN Business, Senator Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the US Food and Drug Administration should investigate the high caffeine content in the canned energy drink as well as its marketing efforts.
Schumer alleged that Prime Energy “has an eye-popping level of caffeine, and that’s giving parents and doctors the jitters for the kids that are targets”, and that another issue is that “most parents haven’t even heard of this stuff that their kids are begging for”.
“Prime is born from the reels of social media and the enigmatic world of influencers,” Schumer said. “Kids see it on their phones as they scroll, and then they actually have a need for it.”
In response, Prime said that its energy drink contained a comparable amount of caffeine to other top-selling energy drinks, all falling within the legal limits of the countries they are sold in.
Prime offers two kinds of beverages: Prime Hydration, a sports drink that does not contain caffeine, and Prime Energy, a highly caffeinated drink.
The Conversation reported that the popularity could be explained in part by the popularity of its founders, who have over 39 million subscribers on their main YouTube channels.
“Paul has made videos answering viewer questions and comments. KSI also recently made videos reading and commenting on fans’ posts on Reddit, which included some about the Prime drink,” said The Conversation.
The Star