Social media mogul turned entrepreneur Logan Paul has been accused of targeting children with marketing campaigns since the launch of his Prime range of drinks.
Adding fuel to the fire is the latest version of the drink, called Glowberry, which comes in a black and green glow-in-the-dark bottle.
But new interview Paul hit back at his critics on Friday's Good Morning America, calling the accusations “serious allegations” and further denying that his drinks are targeted at children.
“Ninety percent of my audience is over the age of 18,” Paul told GMA. “According to Instagram analytics, 93 percent of PRIME's viewers are over 18 years old.”
However, Instagram only targets users 13 and older, with less than 6% of its users in the U.S. being between 13 and 17, according to the company's analysis.
When Paul and his business partner and social media influencer Olajide Olayinka Williams Olatunji (also known as KSI) launched their drink products 'Prime Energy' and 'Prime Hydration' in 2022, they created an energy It claimed that the product was not intended for minors. 18's.
“People need to be smart about what they put in their bodies,” Paul continued during the interview, acknowledging that there is no place for caffeine in the diet of anyone under 18.
Not all PRIME drinks contain caffeine, but the problem is that it's hard to tell which ones do and don't have caffeine if you're not paying attention. say the critics.
A story of two PRIMEs
PRIME Hydration is a product similar to sports drinks like Gatorade. Contains B vitamins, electrolytes, antioxidants, coconut water, and other hydrating ingredients. Unlike traditional Gatorade and many other sports drinks that use sugar, PRIME contains sucralose (sold under the brand name Splenda) as an artificial sweetener. They come in a variety of flavors and are packaged in brightly colored and now shiny bottles. It's also caffeine free.
PRIME Hydration is a sister drink to PRIME Energy and contains 200 milligrams of caffeine, which is equivalent to more than two 12-ounce cans of Red Bull. The drink caused a sensation when it first hit shelves, with mostly young KSI and Logan Paul fanatics rushing to stores to get their hands on the drink.
Paul and KSI have previously come under fire for their marketing strategies, with many parents, doctors, and even Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) saying the two are targeting children and teens. They claim that they are targeting us.
In a July letter to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) asking the FDA to investigate PRIME, Schumer wrote, “There is one true target market for this product: people under 18 years of age. He's a child.''
“PRIME is so new that most parents have no clue about it, but it was born out of the mysterious world of social media reels and influencers,” Schumer said in a statement at the time. “This product contains as much caffeine as Red Bull, but unlike Red Bull, this product has one true target market: children under 18. That's why I'm alarmed. We're asking the FDA to investigate PRIME. ”
Shortly after, an FDA spokesperson announced that the government would review Schumer's concerns, but no information about the investigation has yet been released.
A pair of influencers behind the product promote it to children, citing a warning on Prime Energy's label that states the drink is not recommended for anyone under 18. continues to refute claims that it is.
It's true that Prime Energy cans have finely printed warnings that say “For ages 18 and up,'' but since many children, who are especially sensitive to the effects of caffeine, don't read labels, many parents are cautioned. They argue that alone is not enough.
Additionally, hydration drinks and energy drinks look and taste very similar, making it easy for someone who isn't paying attention to mistake a caffeinated drink for a hydration drink. The main difference lies in the way the drinks are packaged. The caffeinated version comes in a can, and the hydrating version comes in a bottle.
In a previous interview with Fox Business, Paul defended the packaging differences as a good warning, saying, “I believe we've done as good a job as possible to differentiate our products.”
But one such case of mistaken identity occurred over the summer in Santan Valley, Arizona, where a 10-year-old boy became seriously ill after drinking Prime energy drink.
The boy's mother, Kendra Fisher, told local news that she did not intentionally buy the energy version of the drink, but that it looked very similar to the hydrating version, had the same color and taste. However, he said it was in a can rather than a plastic bottle. .
“It's the same as Coca-Cola. We don't think of bottles and cans as separate products,” Fisher said.
Shortly after taking the drink, Fisher's son began shaking and his heart rate increased to over 130 beats per minute. Over the course of about three hours, Fischer made numerous poison control calls, but his symptoms eventually subsided without a trip to the hospital.
In another similar incident in May, a child in Wales suffered a “heart attack” after accidentally chugging an energy version of the drink.
Caffeine risks in children
There are risks to consuming too much caffeine in general, Mary Romano, MD, an adolescent medicine specialist at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, told the Messenger. However, these risks may be amplified in children.
“Risks of excessive caffeine intake include anxiety, heart palpitations, dehydration due to caffeine's diuretic effects, negative effects on sleep, and increased blood pressure,” Dr. Romano says. “This is even more problematic for adolescents and young adults who may have problems with any of these at baseline, or who are taking other medications that may have similar effects to caffeine. It could become.”
But concerns don't end with caffeine, Dr. Romano explains.
“Most energy drinks contain other 'natural' supplements, such as guarana, which also act like caffeine, so the effects are additive.”
But parents' main complaint isn't about caffeine itself, but rather about the marketing. Many people worry that children might accidentally ingest the caffeinated version, or that adolescents and teens might purchase the beverage without fully understanding the risks of caffeine. I am worried.
After her son's incident, Ms. Fisher requested that PRIME drinks packaging be redesigned to better differentiate the two products.
“It shouldn’t just look like the exact same color scheme, the exact same logo,” she said.
The latest glow-in-the-dark bottle is probably not what she had in mind. In addition to the new design, these bottles are considered rare and are only sold in stores.
“Approximately 10% of our limited edition Glowberry bottles are ‘rare’ and only 2% are ‘ultra rare’. No rare/ultra-rare bottles available for online ordering…Enjoy! ” @DrinkPrime Posted X when the new look debuted.
“Rare” and “ultra rare” in this case refer to the way the bottle is designed. The rare version has a unique font color scheme, and the ultra rare includes a holographic font.
Like a modern-day Willy Wonka's hunt for the Golden Ticket, those who snag a special edition bottle often brag about it to fellow #PrimeTracker enthusiasts on social media.
Posts on X (formerly Twitter) are filled with parents bragging about the brownie points they and their kids have earned by finding rare or limited edition PRIME bottles.
A father took me to X. share He was able to secure the Glowberry hydration drink, which had previously sold out, and was awarded “Best Dad status” by his daughters.
Although Glowberry is part of the Prime Hydration range, it's easy to see why it would be a problem to promote glow-in-the-dark bottles while denying that the drink is marketed to children. .
But as Dr. Romano says, “not all prime drinks are created equal,” so there's nothing wrong with adults choosing to consume the caffeinated version.
