Some sentiments are so obvious that they should never need to become sentences, but: £45 is too much to pay for a can of pop. I recently walked into my local sweetshop with a mind to buy some candy sticks when I stopped to marvel at a humming fridge lined with pink, orange and blue cans. Each can contained the energy drink Prime, which was “created by” YouTubers Logan Paul and KSI in 2022. And each bore a pale yellow price tag reading “£44.99”.
You may be surprised to hear that this is a bargain. One shop in Yorkshire has been selling bottles of Prime for £100 each, while sold eBay listings show that someone, somewhere paid £351 for a single grape-flavoured drink. While the beverage retails for just £1.99 in Asda, stampedes and scuffles have resulted in shortages – hence the price gouging. On 7 January, KSI urged his adoring fans not to pay over the odds for Prime, screaming into his front-facing camera: “Oh my God, NOOO!” and “Stop buying it at these prices!”
