THE DROP
Insights, launches, and strategy from inside the creator economy.
NOTES FROM THE EDITOR
This week, we’re doing something a little different.
Instead of highlighting what’s working in the creator economy, we’re breaking down a brand that’s stumbled — hard. Prime Hydration, once the undisputed king of influencer brands, saw its sales drop more than 70% in a single year.
We wanted to slow down this week and zoom in. No fluff, just one deep dive into what went wrong, what we can learn, and what it means for anyone building a brand in the creator economy.
Sometimes the best insights come from the stumbles.
Let’s get into it.
☕ Solo Story
🥤The Downfall of an Empire - Prime Hydration
How did Prime Hydration go from the kingpin of influencer brands to losing 70% of its sales in just one year?
If you don’t know what Prime is, we’ll assume you’ve been living under a rock. But since it’s our job to keep you informed, here’s a quick refresher: Prime is the energy drink brand co-founded by Logan Paul and KSI that shot into the $1B club almost overnight. Kids were lining up at 5 a.m. Bottles were flipping on eBay for 10x retail. Even parents knew what it was.
But in 2025, is Prime still the dominant influencer brand it once was?
A recent headline caught our eye: Prime’s sales have plummeted by over 70%. As a company that closely follows the world of influencer-led brands, even we were surprised. Prime was the dominant name in the influencer space. So what went wrong? Our goal in this newsletter is to give aspiring creators actionable takeaways they can apply to building their own brands.
The Initial Hype:
When Prime launched in 2022, there was crazy hype behind the brand. They used scarcity-driven marketing tactics to drive up demand and create chaos among consumers. With stunts like a WWE boxing appearance where Logan Paul wore a life-size Prime bottle costume, or when Logan and KSI surprised schools with free crates of Prime, the duo went on a marketing tour, and it worked. Prime has been one of the best initial influencer brand drops of all time.
The Downfall:
As much hype as the duo brought to Prime’s launch, just two years later the momentum has hit a wall. In the UK alone, sales dropped from $153 million in 2023 to just $45 million in 2024—a staggering decline for a brand once considered unstoppable. And if early signals are any indication, 2025 isn’t looking any brighter.
So what exactly happened to Prime that brought it down from stardom?
Low Quality Product: We don’t like to bash influencer products, but when was the last time you heard someone rave about Prime? Prime failed to make a product that kept consumers coming back—which is how CPG brands thrive. They made flavors that kids didn’t like and immediately fell behind their competitors.
Over Saturation: Prime entered a heavily dominated market. Top competitors like Gatorade and Powerade were already beloved by consumers, so another sports drink brand would have to really stand out—and ultimately, Prime couldn’t do that. They tried going the “healthy” route by removing sugar from their drinks, but the quality suffered. Going forward, they’ll have to adjust their product to stand out.
Negative Publicity: The team at Prime worked hard to make their marketing campaigns succeed—and they did a great job. But ultimately, the consumer backlash was strong. Reports of PFAS “forever chemicals,” caffeine misrepresentation, and growing distrust caused the product to lose momentum. Influencers need to evolve their strategies beyond simple promos and adopt a truly consumer-centric mindset.
When an influencer launches a product, they need to keep core business principles at the forefront. An influencer brand is only powerful during the launch phase; afterward, real strategies are needed to ensure long-term success.
While Prime was an example of how influencer branding can fail, hundreds of influencer brands are thriving. And its only a matter of time before every brand has an influencer behind it.
Consumers trust influencers and want to support them any chance they can. For Prime, its not too late to turn things around. They will need to adjust their product and continue to prioritize the consumer.
Take Feastables as an example. When MrBeast first launched the brand, early feedback often criticized the chocolate for having a chalky texture and underwhelming flavor. Instead of ignoring it, the team doubled down on R&D, reformulated the recipe, and rolled out a better-tasting product (without losing the momentum of the brand). The result? Stronger customer loyalty and even more trust in the MrBeast name.
We're not saying you need to perfect the product before consumers even see it. We're saying that influencers should work to improve their products over time to meet their audience's demands.
If you liked this story, please feel free to share! Our team at Donavelli spends time catering these stories to try and help other influencers and brand managers thrive. If you’re looking to start you own merchandise please email us at [email protected] and we can help you figure out if merch is right for you!
Thanks for reading :)
— The Donavelli Team