YouTuber KSI claims Asda workers are selling his new energy drink on the black market which is causing a national shortage. He claims many of them are being sold for up to 500 times their price tag - £2 - for ill-gained profit.
In an interview with The Fellas podcast, the 29-year-old, real name Olajide Olayinka Williams "JJ" Olatunji, said: "It's always sold out, man. Honestly, people are selling it on the black market", reports The Scottish Sun.
"I s*** you not, the only place you're meant to get Prime is Asda and Arsenal stadium, but people are getting it at petrol stations. Asda employees aren't even f***ing putting it on the shelves anymore. They're shipping it out lowkey.
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"They're like 'what's the point? I put it on the shelf and it’s gone instantly. F*** it, I'm just going to sell it on the black market myself'. That's what they're doing, bro, and then people are making Ps from it because you can't get it anywhere."
The drinks - called Prime Hydration - were developed by influencers turned boxing rivals KSI and Logan Paul. They hit UK shelves in May and have been flying off them ever since.
Thirsty teens have been swarming supermarkets to get their hands on the drinks, in a craze part-fuelled by TikTok. And Prime has been so popular that some Asda branches have introduced a three-bottle limit, while schools have banned it altogether.
Now, it seems people are turning to sites like eBay to make some serious cash. Current listings show sellers flogging cases for £1,129 - or £47 a bottle.
And one bold user is charging £1,000 per 500ml. It is not known where these vendors got their stock or if they work for Asda.
KSI and Paul came up with the idea for coconut water-based Prime Hydration after their final boxing match in 2019. During a live stream, the pair said they wanted to "rival the biggest companies on earth" with their products - including "Pepsi, Coke, Gatorade and Powerade".
But they insisted their main goals for the 11-flavour project - which includes blue raspberry, tropical punch and grape - were taste and hydration.
An Asda spokesperson said stores receive regular deliveries of the popular product but declined to comment on colleagues buying stock.
But some lucky shoppers say they have been able to get their hands on the energy drink in Bristol. One TikTok user posted a video holding a lemon-lime flavour of the drink. When asked what Asda they bought it from they replied 'Patchway/ Cribbs Causeway'.
But most have had no luck, with another TikTok user sharing a video of their search of what appears to be a stock tracker for the energy drink, but everywhere appears to have no stock.
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