The Rise & Fall of Prime

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I vividly remember the exact moment I first heard about Prime.

It was 2023, and Logan Paul and KSI had just arrived in Australia to promote their energy drink. The news on TV showed footage of the crowd that had gathered to meet them. Thousands of young people, screaming, crying, pushing forward like they were at a Beatles concert in 1964.

What made it even more surreal was turning to anyone over 30 in the room watching that footage and seeing them ask the same question. “Who the hell are these guys?”

The generational divide was massive. For Gen Alpha, these were gods. For everyone else, they were... YouTubers? Boxers? Something about energy drinks?

They’d built something that connected so deeply with one specific audience that it didn’t matter if the rest of the world understood. Deep resonance with the right people beats shallow appeal to everyone.

But the warning signs were right there in that footage too. These weren’t customers queuing for a product they loved. They were fans who showed up for the personalities they worshipped. The drink was just the flavour of the month (literally?). When the personalities moved on, or the worship faded, what would be left?

Logan Paul and KSI weren’t starting from zero when they launched Prime Hydration in January 2022. Combined, they commanded attention from more than 60 million people across their social media accounts. That’s more than 2x the entire population of Australia. These creators had spent decades building trust and parasocial relationships. This was an audience monetisation play.

But the power of Prime’s launch was more than just having a massive audience. It was engineering scarcity on top of existing demand.

From day one, Prime deliberately limited distribution. Retailers amplified the frenzy by placing caps and security stickers on bottles to prevent theft. Bottles started appearing on eBay for almost $1,500. Kids were treating Prime launches like Supreme merch drops. Prime had basically turned a $2.50 sports drink into a $1,500 status symbol.

The psychology here was perfect for Gen Alpha specifically. This generation has spent their entire lives watching YouTube algorithms decide what’s “trending” and social media feeds showing them what everyone else has. They’re hardwired to spot scarcity signals and respond with urgency. When something is limited, it’s not just desirable, it’s proof you’re early to something the algorithm will eventually make massive. Missing out doesn’t just mean you don’t get the product. It means you’re not part of the in-group who saw it coming.

The stunts feeding this machine were perfect examples of successful influencer promotions. In one video, Paul and KSI dressed up as Walmart employees and went undercover in stores to sell Prime. It was entertaining content that happened to include Prime. The line between entertainment and commerce disappeared completely.

The initial numbers were staggering. Prime made $250 million in 2022 and exploded to $1.2 billion in 2023. They overtook Gatorade to become the most-sold hydration drink.

Everything about Prime’s launch screamed the kind of explosive growth that venture capitalists dream about and business schools write case studies on.

But many people could also see the writing on the wall.

Jon Evans, chief customer officer at System1, had studied the 20 most successful soft drink launches of the past decade. More than half saw their sales decline in the second year after launch. The consistent pattern was sharp growth followed by decline.

“You can cheat maybe for a short time as they have,” Evans said of Prime’s launch, “but long term, you can’t cheat the fundamentals.”

Prime fell into that pattern right on schedule.

Then other issues compounded the decline. In April 2024, a class action lawsuit alleged Prime contains excessive caffeine and “forever chemicals”. Logan Paul responded with characteristic bravado, saying, “This ain’t a rinky-dink operation”, but the damage was done. When you’re already declining and then suddenly schools ban you and you’re facing lawsuits, notoriety compounds.

But the deeper problem was in the core challenge with most influencer brands. Logan Paul’s personal history of controversies, from filming corpses in Japan’s Suicide Forest to a lawsuit over crypto promotions, became Prime’s baggage. When your brand equity is tied to a personal brand, you live or die by their public image. Every controversy becomes your PR crisis. Every moment of bad judgement becomes a reason for customers to reconsider.

The same Gen Alpha audience that made Prime’s initial success possible was now killing it. They’re particularly susceptible to the “bandwagon effect”, buying certain items to feel like they fit in. But they’re also quick to move on when something stops feeling exclusive. The shift from “I need this to fit in” to “this is cringe” happened faster than Prime could respond.

Andrea Hernández, who writes the food and beverage newsletter Snaxshot, said of Prime, “a brand cannot live on hype alone”.

Prime tried to maintain relevance through traditional brand-building moves, including sponsorship deals with the UFC, Arsenal Football Club, and various other sports organisations. But these moves felt hollow compared to the organic energy of the initial viral moment. They were playing by old rules in a game they’d temporarily rewritten.

It was also too little, too late. The fundamental misalignment had become obvious. Paul and KSI’s real business has always been their internet personalities. Prime was intended to monetise their image rather than be a standalone product. The drink never developed sustainable repeat purchase behaviour. Without a strong customer loyalty foundation, Prime was left exposed when the hype died, which it always does.

MrBeast’s Feastables launched around the same time with a similarly massive following and product category. But the execution and outcomes were dramatically different.

Feastables generated about $250 million in sales last year, with profits exceeding $20 million. Over the same stretch, Prime’s business lost almost $80 million.

The difference is understanding which game you’re playing.

Bring in the experts

From day one, Feastables brought in Jim Murray, the former president of protein bar company RXbar. They treated it like a real standalone business requiring real expertise. When they made early packaging mistakes, they acknowledged them publicly and fixed them. Over 100 people now work specifically on Feastables, and the brand has expanded to Europe, Africa, and Asia with genuine local market understanding.

It comes down to recognising that running a consumer product business requires different skills than creating YouTube content. Prime relied on Paul and KSI’s instincts and existing team. Feastables brought in someone who’d already built and sold a successful snack brand.

Brand value over celebrity hype

Audience extraction versus brand building. Prime optimised for quick revenue extraction from an existing audience, get as much money as possible while the attention lasts. Feastables optimised for building standalone brand value that survives beyond any individual viral moment.

When customers see your brand as tied to a personality, they’re buying membership in that personality’s tribe. When the personality becomes problematic or uncool, the tribe disbands. But when customers see your brand as a high-quality product associated with someone they like, the relationship is more durable. The founder’s reputation can take hits (as Mr Beast’s has) without destroying the consumer brand.

Invest in your product

Beast Industries hired venture capitalist Jeffrey Housenbold as CEO to professionalise the business. He’s cutting an estimated $100 million in costs this year while turning the company profitable. The critical insight that makes this all work is that they see media as a “marketing investment in everything else we do”, as Housenbold puts it. Beast Industries forecasts that by 2026, media revenue (e.g. all Mr Beast’s conent) will account for only 20% of total revenue.

Content creates distribution, but product creates sustainability.

MrBeast is willing to lose money on his media business, including tens of millions on his Amazon show Beast Games, because he understands the real business is products. YouTube videos and TV shows are marketing channels that also generate revenue.

Prime never made that distinction. For Logan Paul and KSI, their brands were the business. Prime was just the current revenue stream. When it stopped working, they could move on. They’d already made a fortune.

Separate entertainment from business

Feastables clearly separates the entertainment business from the product business. Not chasing every viral moment, but systematic growth. Understanding that a founder’s personality opens doors, but can’t sustain a business alone.

The product had to stand on its own merit. Prizes and giveaways introduced the chocolate bars, but product quality had to earn repeat purchases. When founder controversies hit, or Gen Alpha moves on to the next thing, what’s left needs to be worth buying on its own.

Prime showed the extraordinary power of audience-backed launch velocity. When you combine massive social media following, psychological scarcity tactics, and perfectly tuned Gen Alpha targeting, you can create hockey-stick growth that makes any traditional marketing look quaint.

But velocity without direction just means you crash faster.

Logan Paul and KSI probably don’t care that Prime is in bargain bins now. They made their money. Their personal brands survived. They’ve moved on to other ventures. The pattern continues.

Creators have distribution advantages that traditional brands can’t match. The ability to broadcast to millions of engaged followers for free creates asymmetric opportunities. But distribution only matters if you build something worth distributing. Attention only converts to sustainable revenue if the product justifies coming back.

The real skill is deciding upfront whether you’re optimising for extraction or endurance, then building accordingly. Prime and Feastables both achieved their stated goals. Prime extracted the maximum value from a viral moment. Feastables is building something that might outlast its founder’s YouTube career.

The mistake is confusing one strategy with the other. Trying to build an enduring brand with extraction tactics, or leaving money on the table by building infrastructure for longevity when you just need a quick win.

Know which game you’re playing. Then play it properly.

The ultimate question for every brand is “what do we want to be after the algorithm moves on?”

That’s the difference between a campaign and a company. Between a moment and a movement. Between quick wins and lasting value.

Prime proved you can cheat the fundamentals for a short time. But only for a short time.

The fundamentals always win eventually.

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