Prime drinks, Feastables chocolates deliver a beast of a punch for their influencer creators

SINGAPORE – When Ms Syairah Eefa saw several videos on TikTok of Prime drinks being sold in Singapore, she was elated. Her sons, aged nine and 11, are big fans of YouTubers Logan Paul and KSI, who founded the beverages, she said.

The 39-year-old assistant manager said: “They’ve been talking about wanting to try the drinks for months as they were first available in the US in 2022.”

Logan Paul is an American influencer who rose to fame by posting videos on now-defunct short-video app Vine. He later gained a bigger following through YouTube and professional wrestling. 

KSI, whose real name is Olajide Olayinka Williams Olatunji, is a British social media influencer and a professional boxer.

The drinks – Prime Hydration and Prime Energy – come in various flavours. Prime’s website says the Hydration drinks are caffeine-free and contain B vitamins, coconut water, electrolytes and antioxidants, while the ingredients in the Energy drinks include caffeine, electrolytes and sugar, and are vegan. 

In Singapore, the FairPrice supermarket chain is selling nine flavours of the Prime Hydration bottled drinks at $3.50 each. It does not carry the Energy range.

Over at SGFR, a store selling international candy and snacks, prices, according to its website, range from $5 for a Prime Energy canned drink to $350 for a Prime Hydration 500ml bottled drink in the limited and collector’s series.

At Mustafa Centre, videos in November 2023 showed a variety of Prime Hydration’s 500ml bottles selling at $7.90. Fast forward to July, these bottled drinks are being sold at $1.90, while 330ml canned Energy drinks carry a price tag of $2.90. ST understands that the slashed prices are due to an ongoing promotion, with the price of a 500ml bottled Hydration drink originally going for $5.90.

After her children finally got their hands on a few bottles, they kept the bottles like “prized possessions” after finishing the drinks, Ms Eefa said with a laugh. She, on the other hand, was simply pleased that the drinks are not carbonated.

Prime drinks are not the only consumables fronted by celebrity influencers flying off the shelves in Singapore. 

Earlier in 2024, FairPrice had announced that it was offering products from another celebrity influencer, MrBeast, as well as the Prime drinks collection.

James Stephen Donaldson, better known by his online moniker MrBeast, is another popular American YouTuber who has an array of successful brands under his belt, such as Feastables, a line of chocolate bars. His 308 million subscribers on YouTube make his channel the most subscribed on the platform. He is well known for his fast-paced and high-production videos, which feature elaborate challenges and large giveaways.

A FairPrice spokesman told ST: “FairPrice Group is constantly monitoring global trends and sourcing new and interesting products to delight our customers. 

“The launch of Prime in January and Feastables on March 9 are part of our ongoing efforts to stay ahead of consumer needs and preferences. While we did not receive specific requests to make these products available in our stores, we noted significant interest for them expressed through social media platforms.”

The products, FairPrice said, are mainly available to customers at FairPrice, FairPrice Finest and Xtra stores, Cheers outlets and FairPrice Online.

The spokesman added: “First launched across 40 FairPrice Finest outlets, Feastables quickly gained popularity with customers and is now available at close to 140 FairPrice, FairPrice Finest and FairPrice Xtra outlets across Singapore.”

Associate Professor Seshan Ramaswami, who teaches marketing education at the Singapore Management University, said of FairPrice’s strategy: “The association with this trend can help its brand image – making it more appealing to younger people and drawing new traffic.”

Mr Calvin Tan, who follows MrBeast’s YouTube channel, said: “When I saw that he had launched a chocolate and it was available in Singapore, I had to try because I was curious if it would taste like another chocolate brand which I am a fan of. 

“I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the chocolate bar. The taste was smooth, velvety, chocolatey and sweet. To me, this bar was amazing. I tried the peanut butter flavour and am keen to try the other flavours,” said the 53-year-old, who declined to disclose his occupation.

MrBeast’s Feastables are priced between $3.50 and $5.90 for a 60g chocolate bar at FairPrice.

While it did not give sales figures, FairPrice noted that since the launch of Prime and Feastables, there has been strong demand for both products from young families and students who may have heard of them or are aware of their creators.

Mustafa and SGFR did not respond to queries by The Straits Times.

Mr Nafe Tong, chief creative officer of brand and creative consulting agency ABrandADay, was not surprised at the popularity of these influencer-backed products.

“In some ways, this new generation of faces may have an even stronger pull than A-listers, from the fact that they’re typically more relatable to their target audience,” he said.

“With the ‘chronically online’ youth, there’s an aspiration to be like the content creators they look up to. By partaking in their favourite personalities’ products, it allows youth to enjoy a sense of connection, community and relevance.”

This is

despite Prime drinks making headlines in the US in 2023

after parents and paediatricians called for the products to be banned from being sold to minors due to their high caffeine content, saying a single serving contained as much caffeine as six Coca-Colas, Reuters reported. Prime Energy has 200mg of caffeine in a 350ml can, which exceeds permissible caffeine levels in countries such as Canada, Australia and New Zealand, the report added.

Student Devin Perera, 14, estimates having spent $125 on Prime drinks in a span of about four months.

He said: “I am a huge supporter of Logan and his brother, Jake Paul, and I try to support them whenever I can and buy their merchandise or products... which is whenever I get my allowance. 

“My mother has scolded me a few times for buying the (caffeinated) Prime drinks, as she thinks I’m still too young to have them on a frequent basis. But I just buy them because most of my friends buy them.”