Who’s really behind the Prime Hydration drinks craze?

Aldi supermarkets across the UK came under siege this week, as shoppers fought to get their hands on a viral range of soft drinks promoted by YouTube stars Logan Paul and KSI.

Prime Hydration was made available as an Aldi “Special Buy” but the chain’s Crawley store, for one, had entirely run out just 30 minutes after opening on Thursday morning (29 December).

Consumers lined up round the block in the hope of obtaining crates of their own, while staff were forced to limit customers to one bottle per person. Notices were placed warning that they had completely sold out soon after.

Runs on the drink were also reported at Aldi branches in Gravesend in Kent and in Thornbury near Bradford, among other locations.

The two video stars, who became friends after squaring up for an amateur boxing bout, are very much the faces of Prime Hydration but who is actually behind the product?

As internet sleuth Isaiah Louis has pointed out, every bottle sold lists an address in Louisville, Kentucky, which can be used to trace the manufacturer via the local secretary of state’s website to one Max Clemons.

Clemons is the co-owner of Congo Brands, the true manufacturer of the drinks, with partner Trey Steiger.

On its own site, Congo states that it “was developed to create synergies between the independent brands [Clemons and Steiger] co-founded over the years.

“Brands in the Congo portfolio may have ownership beyond Trey and Max, however, they do provide key insights into the operations of each brand.”

The duo were recently profiled in The Sun, which described them as former classmates at Pleasure Ridge High School in Louisville who “now control a drinks empire experts say is set to produce 10 million bottles a year, making more than £85m”.