PRIME HYDRATION

The start of the frenzy

Launched in the UK in June 2022, the Prime Hydration range consists of seven flavours. That it uses a coconut water base (because, health) and contains electrolytes (what every tween and teen needs after a long day at school) is about as much product info as you’ll find on this elusive product. And if you think the flavour descriptors will help you, you’re wrong. Though Grape, Lemon & Lime, Tropical Punch, Orange and Blue Raspberry seem fairly self-explanatory, the jury is out on what Meta Moon, and Ice Pop could possibly contain.

If you’re not already familiar with their work, the drink has been launched by social media stars – and sometime boxers –?Logan Paul and KSI, who have over 40 million followers between them.??These are the kind of ‘stars’ that are embraced by their fans with a frenzy once reserved for boy band appearances at your local shopping centre.

Obtainable, or is it?

So, when it came to launching a new product, something aspirational but obtainable by their young fans was important. And that’s part of the reason it’s proved so popular. Though the drink has an?RRP of ￡1.99, there are reports of it selling for over ￡100. Stores that stock it – including Asda and Aldi – have faced mobs of shoppers who have cleared the shelves within minutes. There’s now tracker apps that have sprung up to help fans locate fresh stock. And unofficial stockists are commonly charging around ￡15 a bottle.

According to that great bastion of neutral and unexcited news telling, the?Daily Mail, even little kids have cottoned on to the many side businesses this coveted launch has created. It reports that a “ten-year-old little Del Boy’” has been selling empty bottles of the stuff for up to ￡4 a bottle; double the price of a full bottle’s RRP. Presumably those that haven’t got their hands on it are refilling and posing with the bottles? Which goes to show how culturally significant the drink is for a specific group of consumers. So what lessons are there to be learned? Why has this launch, among all others, achieved such success??

1)?????Affordability?

For their young fans, the branded sweatshirts and whatnot that most social media stars flog are desirable, but unachievable. Usually only purchasable online (and therefore with a credit card) its not just the price point that puts them out of??direct reach of youngsters.??A ￡1.99 drink however, well that’s something that – in theory – a young fan can go and purchase themselves.?

2)?????Harness a following?

There would be no sales rush, no craze, without the duo having built a colossal fan base. Their reach is, frankly, massive. KSI has?41 million subscribers and?over 10 billion?video views across three YouTube channels, with 24 million subscribers on its main channel and 5.95 billion views. Logan Paul has 23.6 million subscribers and 5.94 billion viewers. That’s a bonkers big market, just poised to sell to.?

3)?????Multiple marketing streams

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