Last January, famous internet celebrities KSI “Knowledge Strength and Integrity” and Logan Paul announced their new product: Prime. With both creators having millions of followers, their ambitious venture became an instant success. 

Being a sports drink, the main appeal of Prime is its nutritional value. It contains 10 percent coconut water and is marketed as a healthier alternative to other market options like Body Armor and Gatorade. 

Since its launch, the product has seen incredible success. Over 10 million drinks were sold within the first two months of launch, and as of this past August, the company was evaluated at $37.6 million in retail sales, making it the sixth-largest sports drink brand in the world. 

The drink has been sold out for months on the official Prime website, so the only way to get it is through local grocery stores like Walmart and Target. However, the beverage is almost always out of stock, so acquiring it becomes difficult. Thus, many people have resorted to buying it through a third-party source like eBay. The scarcity of this drink has jacked up the price on online markets, with prices ranging from $2.50 per bottle to an egregious $12 per bottle. The tedious task of obtaining the beverage raises an important question: is prime worth all the hype?

Currently, there are seven flavors available: meta moon, blue raspberry, grape, ice pop, orange, lemon-lime and tropical punch. Meta moon is the newest addition, being announced this past September. Unfortunately, none of the stores near me were selling this flavor, and I could not obtain this drink. 

The lemon-lime tastes like a watered-down lemonade Gatorade. It has noticeably less sugar and artificial flavoring than the lemon Gatorade, making it more stomachable after three or four sips. It has more of a lemon flavor than I expected, which I enjoyed. Overall, a respectable 7.4/10. 

The blue raspberry drink is by far the best flavor. It isn’t overly sweet and doesn’t have a strong aftertaste. It has a simple, sweet flavor that works really well. I could easily chug one of these bottles if I’m not careful. Overall: 9.4/10. 

The grape has a strong artificial flavor and leaves behind a noticeable aftertaste. I’ve never been much of a fan of grape-flavored candy or drinks, and this drink follows the same pattern. This one is definitely my least favorite: 6/10. 

The ice pop flavor lives up to its name: it tastes like a bomb pop you would find at an ice cream truck. Unlike the bomb pop, this beverage isn’t overly sweet and is quite a nice drink. This would be very refreshing on a hot summer day or after a hard workout at the gym. Overall: 8.4/10.

The orange flavor can only be described with one word: diluted. It has a barely noticeable hint of citrus and does not have a very loud or strong flavor. This one barely leaves an aftertaste, and it would be the easiest to down three or four in one sitting. The drink is not inherently bad, but is definitely lower on the list. Overall: 6.7/10. 

The tropical punch flavor reminds me a lot of Hi-C fruit punch. Both drinks have an eerily similar aftertaste, and this beverage definitely has similar sugar. This drink lands above the average, middle-of-the-road drinks but below the really good ones you actively seek. Overall: 7.7/10. 

Is prime good? Yes. There is no doubt that the taste is great, though there aren’t any groundbreaking new flavors. Although some flavors are definitely better than others, I would drink all of them if given the chance. Is it worth all the hassle? No, definitely not. I would not recommend driving to the store to specifically get Prime, especially because of the high chance the beverage is out of stock. Prime is a quality product, but the hype has overblown the drink quite a bit.

Prime founders KSI (left)  and Logan Paul (right) enjoying their drink. Photo: Twitter @LoganPaul

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