PRIME Hydration LLC faces its second lawsuit due to misleading advertising of its PRIME sports drinks to young audiences.
On April 8, 2024, a class action lawsuit accused Prime Hydration LLC of unsafe advertisement of caffeine present in Prime Energy Drinks. Testing commissioned by Plaintiff’s attorneys allegedly shows the actual caffeine content in these drinks is around 215-225 milligrams instead of the advertised 200 milligrams.
Logan Paul and KSI heavily advertise these drinks towards their audience, composed of young boys. This is heavily concerning considering “[there] is no proven safe dose of caffeine for children. Side effects for kids consuming caffeine could include rapid or irregular heartbeats, headaches, seizures, shaking, stomach upset and adverse emotional effects on mental health.” For reference, “[in] contrast to a 12-ounce can of Red Bull energy drink, which contains 114 milligrams of caffeine, or a cup of coffee, which contains around 100 milligrams of caffeine, the Products are labeled and advertised to contain 200 milligrams of caffeine per 12-ounce can”.
It is not uncommon to see content creators and companies with kid-oriented demographics tailor products to appeal to their market of children. After all, a young, impressionable child surely would not refuse to pass up the chance to publicly show their love and support for their favorite content creator. Furthermore, creators intentionally integrate bright imagery into their merchandise and advertise it under “limited stock”. Video games like Fortnite and Call of Duty heavily utilize microtransactions (in-game purchases granting certain features or virtual currency to the player) under the same principles with no repercussions.
Prime Hydration LLC is just one of the many thousands of companies who target their demographic of children in this manner; this is not a new practice by any means. So, what does this mean for children? And for companies similar to Prime Hydration LLC? Should there be more regulations for advertising? Should it be illegal to advertise to children? Are parents at fault for not monitoring what their kid does closely?
Plaintiff (Lara Vera) is asking for $5 million from Prime out of the case.
