From calorie count to portion sizes, we wanted to find all the differences between Prime in the US and UK. This is "Food Wars."
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00:00From portion sizes to exclusive flavors, we wanted to find out all the differences
00:03between Prime in the US and the UK. This is Food Wars.
00:11Let's start with Prime Hydration. In the UK, it comes in a 500 milliliter bottle.
00:15You can either buy this as a single bottle or as part of a 12-pack.
00:18In the US, our hydration also comes in one size, the 16.9 fluid ounce bottle or 500 milliliters.
00:25You can get an option of one bottle, an 8-pack, which you did not get, sorry.
00:29The 12-pack and a 15-pack variety.
00:33We also have Prime Energy, which in the UK comes in a 330 milliliter can.
00:38Just like Prime Hydration, this either comes as a single can or as part of a 12-pack.
00:42In the US, Prime Energy is a 12 fluid ounce can or 355 milliliters.
00:48And it comes in a single can, the 12-pack and a 24-pack.
00:53In the US, our biggest Prime Hydration single item by volume is this,
00:57the 15-drink variety pack. Total fluid volume, 253.6 fluid ounces or 7,500 milliliters.
01:07Our larger size is a 12-pack of bottles, which adds up to 6 liters of Prime,
01:11but that's still 20% less than the biggest size in America.
01:14And if you go on energy drink,
01:1524 cans of these energy drinks. This is 288 fluid ounces or 8,520 milliliters.
01:25Our biggest Prime Energy item is, again, the 12-pack, but remember that our cans are slightly smaller than America's.
01:31The 12-pack of Prime Energy in the UK adds up to 3,960 milliliters. That's 53.5% smaller than the biggest size in America.
01:39Here are almost all of the exclusive Prime products you can get in the US, you can't get in the UK.
01:48And here are all the Prime drinks you'll find in the UK, but not in the US.
01:51There aren't any. Sorry, guys.
01:53There are currently seven flavors of Prime Hydration available in the UK.
01:55However, all of them are available in the US as well, so none of them are actually exclusive.
02:00That said, there are some subtle differences in ingredients when it's compared to the US,
02:03and also, I've never had Prime before, so I want to try all of these, give you my thoughts, and maybe rank them as well.
02:08Here are currently three of the four Prime Hydration drinks you can get in the US you can't get in the UK.
02:15So we got the Lemonade. We got Orange.
02:18We have this LA Dodgers flavor that might be just specific to Los Angeles.
02:22And there's a grape flavor couldn't get my hands on.
02:25And here are all the other flavors you get in the US.
02:28Let's start down here. Lemon Lime.
02:29I mean, they're just going after Gatorade on this one.
02:32Wasn't it the first Gatorade flavor, Lemon Lime?
02:35Really sweet. Wow, it's really sweet.
02:37Ice Pop. But also this looks like they have different names, but I grew up calling them Bomb Pops.
02:42I feel like I'm really tasting the cherry in this one.
02:44I think everyone who's tried these has said it.
02:46These are very sweet, but I mean, cannot surprise me as marketed towards kids.
02:50Another thing I wanted to point out is that I was able to find Ice Pop flavors,
02:53both in the UK version and the US version.
02:56We're going to get more into ingredients a little bit later on,
02:58but I'll do a very quick taste to see if there's any notable differences.
03:01We'll start with the UK one and then we'll try the American version.
03:06The flavors are broadly the same, but the way that this one kind of like hits your taste buds,
03:11it's very different and it's really weird.
03:12When you consume a drink, obviously like you want to feel like your thirst has been quenched.
03:17You take a sip and there's something in here that's like actually kind of like drying my mouth out almost.
03:22I think if I had to pick which ones to prefer,
03:24it is going to be the UK's and I'm not just saying that from bias.
03:26What are you, Topical Punch?
03:30What the ?
03:33All right, well, that's pretty embarrassing.
03:35Hope nobody's watching this.
03:37I do like that.
03:39No kidding, they're getting progressively better as we go through.
03:41Can't screw up orange.
03:44Yeah, this might be my favorite one.
03:45This is really good.
03:46And this doesn't feel as sweet as the other ones, or am I just getting used to it?
03:50Like how your eyes adjust to the dark,
03:51like my tongue's adjusting to the sweetness.
03:54Of the many sports teams in the world that have some sort of deal with Prime,
03:58LA Dodgers is one of them.
04:00Yeah, I'm seeing people on eBay bidding a lot for these, so...
04:04Straight up, I don't know what flavor this is, but it's good.
04:06Do you want to try it? My lips did touch it.
04:08Is it too weird?
04:10I mean, we have a professional relationship.
04:14Oh no, I've gotten used to it.
04:17It's a good lemonade.
04:18As far as lemon-flavored, not carbonated beverage, pretty good.
04:21I was also able to get my hands on one of the American exclusives, the lemonade flavor.
04:25I'm interested to try this because the US and the UK do have slightly differing ideas of what
04:29lemonade is. Obviously in the UK, we consider generally lemonade to be like a carbonated clear
04:34beverage, like a Sprite. Whereas in America, it's usually just kind of like lemon juice,
04:38sugar, and water combined. So it does taste a bit like you've let like a Sprite kind of go flat.
04:45You can probably keep this one for the time being, guys.
04:47Glowberry. It is supposed to glow in the dark. There's a label, not the beverage.
04:54What the hell? Yeah, I think that's the worst one. That's really weird.
04:57Metamoon? What is the vibe of this? What about this as like, oh, that's so refreshing.
05:02This tastes the way, uh, sunblock smells. Strawberry watermelon, right? Back to things I've heard of.
05:08No, this is exactly like, um, bubble-ish. It's like one of those,
05:11one of those like really fruity ones. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
05:13We're going to start down this end with glowberry flavor. Now, I did have to Google this to see if
05:16glowberries were actual berry or not. As far as I can tell, they are not. I think it generally
05:21refers to a berry flavor, and also the fact that the bottle is supposed to glow in the dark.
05:26I think we should put that to the test. Charlie, hit the lights.
05:33Not really glowing, is it?
05:34My first taste of prime, and it's not blown my socks off to say. It's just a very artificial
05:42berry flavor. Got a bit of tang to it. Next up, we've got strawberry watermelon.
05:49I like that. The flavor I get from that is almost more like a kind of blue Powerade
05:53type flavor. According to the label, the ice pop flavor is supposed to taste like cherry,
05:57lime, and blue raspberry. Yeah, I mean, so far the vibe I'm getting is that they just taste kind of
06:02artificial fruit. But I think in terms of like balancing the flavors, this one's done a pretty
06:06good job so far. Maybe the most delicately balanced flavor of the lot. Next up, we've got Meta Moon.
06:12Obviously, I don't know what the moon tastes like, and I don't know what the meta tastes like right
06:16now either. If they were a Food Wars Meta, yellow number five would be S tier right now.
06:24Label just says this is candy flavored, which doesn't fill me with confidence, because like,
06:28which candy? It tastes like Mark Zuckerberg. Oh, it doesn't taste like a smell. No?
06:36Like, at least these ones have had like a fairly identifiable fruity flavor, whereas this one is
06:40just kind of like generic sweet thing. Then we're onto blue raspberry, and one thing that's immediately
06:45stuck out to me is the color. I think I was actually expecting this to be like a more bright blue color.
06:51It's actually just kind of white. It's quite a gentle blue raspberry. I want a bit more acidity
06:58from that, I think, but it goes down very smoothly. I do feel like I'm giving Prime way too much credit
07:02here. I'm swilling it around in a glass like I'm a sommelier. Yeah, maybe if we had a decanter,
07:09I could pour it out, let it breathe a little bit. I'm drinking too much Prime. I'm going to be
07:12hydrated as hell. I'm getting hopped up on Prime. I need to go do like a celebrity boxing match or
07:17something. Yeah, Joe, you down? You and me? In the ring? The full 12 rounds? I actually don't know who'd win
07:25that. I don't know the fight between me and Joe. You back me? Charlie backs me. Harry's vibe is
07:31very like, they're really like always just like calm and reserved or whatever, but that kind of like
07:34that sarcasm that they have over there to me says that they're like something's going on underneath
07:38the surface that they're suppressing. So Harry's like the type of guy that if he got like into a fight
07:44fight, he would like just like black out and then come to at like in the middle of the field at midnight
07:51with a shovel covered in blood with a corpse in his trunk. I'll box him as long as it's supervised.
07:57Moving swiftly on from me and Joe fighting. Next up, we've got Tropical Punch Prime.
08:05So while I was out in the US recently, I was able to try Hawaiian Punch and that's basically exactly
08:10what I'm getting from this. And then finally, we've got the Lemon Lime flavor. Of all of these flavors,
08:15this is the one that tastes the most like it's supposed to. If I had to rank them, I think I'd do it in the
08:20following order. I think my least favorite, probably Metamoon right in the middle here. Metamoon is
08:26down there. I think with Ice Pop, they've just tried to combine a bunch of flavors that don't
08:29necessarily work together very well. So I think it's actually going to be my second to last. I think
08:33Blue Raspberry is going to come next for me and they lose points because I didn't even try and color it.
08:37I think next is going to be Glowberry. The bottle didn't really glow, so maybe leave it in the sun for
08:41a bit longer if you're going to try that at home. I think next up, we're going to have Tropical Punch.
08:45My number two is Lemon Lime, which means that my number one is strawberry watermelon.
08:49My favorite is the orange. In second place, I like the Dodgers flavor. Actually,
08:53I'm going to think about it. I'm going to go here, yeah. The lemon is good. And from here on,
08:57Ice Pop, eh. I mean, yeah, Lemon Lime. These are all like, I'd grab any one of these,
09:01these three, I'd say skip.
09:06A little bit of flavor tweaking or balancing might go a long way. I think with some of these,
09:10you wanted like maybe a bit more tang to them, a bit more acidity, maybe dial back the sweetness on one
09:16or two as well. I don't know if I would necessarily pick a Prime over a classic energy drink like a
09:20Powerade, but I do think in general, if I wanted a sports drink and I went into a store and this was
09:25all they had, I think I'd still be happy to buy one. They're all fine and they kind of do that same
09:29job. Next up, let's take a look at Prime Energy. Now, while the Prime Hydration drinks are similar
09:34to maybe like a Powerade, these are much more similar to a classic energy drink like a Red Bull.
09:38There is one exclusive energy drink flavor in the US you can't get in the UK. It is the original
09:43that just was announced this week. Couldn't get it. Anyway, here are the rest. Yes, the UK also has
09:48them. Most of them are similar to the hydration flavors, but there is a new one, Orange Mango.
09:53I'm a bit apprehensive about trying these because I don't drink energy drinks. I don't even drink
09:56coffee. I only drink tea. And I think one of these contains about as much caffeine as three cups of
10:01tea. So we'll start with Ice Pop. Chin Chin. I think that does mirror the flavor of the hydration
10:08drink pretty closely, but I will say it tastes better than like a standard Red Bull flavor. Strawberry watermelon.
10:13I think there might be a theme here. They just kind of taste like fizzy versions of that. Here's the
10:17new one, Orange Mango. I get mostly mango. I'm not getting much orange from that. Yeah,
10:22not far off like a Rubicon. Tropical Punch is up next. Yeah, I think that one's actually improved by
10:28becoming an energy drink. Lemon Lime. You could give me a glass of that and a glass of Sprite and I'd
10:34struggle to tell the difference, I think, because it is just again like a carbonated
10:37lemon and lime beverage, Blue Raspberry. I actually think for a few of these, just carbonating them
10:44has actually made them better. I think notably that was the case with the Tropical Punch and also
10:49to a degree, I think Blue Raspberry. One I could not get the time of filming this was the Ice Pop
10:54Strawberry Watermelon though. It's like sweet and tart. Orange Mango.
11:00Uh, somehow worse. Uh oh, so far not good. Topical Punch, okay.
11:04Yeah, this one's good. Lemon Lime. Ooh. Yeah, it's pretty good too.
11:11Kind of looks bright. Blue Raspberry. Ooh. Nah. Yeah, it's also like a tart flavor to it. Not that
11:18I do. So I think I'm going to rank it like this. Favorite was Lemon Lime. Really enjoyed the Fruit
11:22Punch. Blue Raspberry is like in the middle. And then these two I wouldn't get. I guess,
11:25wow, apparently the strawberry watermelon flavor. I'm just not digging. Now for the Orange Mango,
11:29which was the worst, something about it just tastes like an armpit. Ice Pop did not like that one,
11:34I'm afraid. Orange Mango, fine, but a bit too artificial. And there are, I think, better like
11:39fizzy mango drinks out there in the UK. Tropical Punch and Blue Raspberry were both improved, I think,
11:43by making them fizzy. But I think just in terms of like flavor balance, strawberry watermelon, undefeated.
11:52One thing I will say about Prime Energy is that so far when I've been tasting these,
11:56I feel like on the very rare occasions when I drink like a Red Bull or a Monster,
12:00they have kind of like a very distinct flavor to them. And even if you add flavorings to that,
12:04it's hard to mask it completely. Whereas I don't really get like a kind of distinct energy drink
12:08flavor throughout all of these. Most of them actually do just kind of taste like fizzy
12:12versions of the hydration drink. I think it's actually quite impressive. I think you probably
12:16could drink them almost as a soda. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.
12:21I do think there's still some room for improvement with the flavors themselves. I think
12:24particularly down this end, of course, but in general, I think I've done a pretty good job
12:28with the flavors. One product that we have exclusively here in the US are these Prime
12:32Hydration Plus sticks. These are like the hydration flavors we had, but in powder form.
12:39I think you can get it in almost every single flavor I got to for six of the crowd. Got six sticks.
12:50I mean, it looks lemon limey too. I guess probably you're supposed to shake it up and that's why I do a
12:54water bottle and then a cup. Because like, look, it's all like globulating at the top here.
12:59Ah, very strong. I think I could have cut it with more water, but... Oh god.
13:05Yeah, it's pretty close. I mean, this is obviously stronger because it's not as much water.
13:08Sadly, the Prime Hydration Plus sachets have not hit UK shelves just yet. Although I can't say I'm
13:13too mad about that. I feel like just buy the drink. It's fine.
13:18The price of Prime can vary wildly depending on where or when you are looking. On the official UK
13:22website, a 12-pack of Prime Hydration sells for £24.99. That's around $31.82. The per bottle cost
13:30on the website, therefore, is just over £2. In the US, that same pack is $29.99, or £23.56. So,
13:38not much of a price difference. If you're not aware, Prime is a brand of hydration and energy
13:43drinks promoted by the influencers Logan Paul and KSI. The two have amassed a huge fan base online
13:49through various ventures on YouTube, in podcasting, music, and even wrestling. Now,
13:52Prime is manufactured by Congo Brands, a company based out of Louisville, Kentucky.
13:57Paul and KSI are the primary spokespeople for the brand. When Prime launched over a year ago,
14:02with KSI and Logan Paul putting their celebrity weight behind the promotion of the brand,
14:06it was a huge success. However, due to the popularity of the drink,
14:10a huge reselling market has emerged. Prime came to the UK in June 2022 and was an immediate smash hit.
14:16On release, Brits saw teenagers queuing up outside supermarkets all morning to try and get their
14:20hands on some. Places like Asda sold out so quickly that they had to implement a three bottle per
14:25customer limit. Convenience stores realized they could buy Prime in bulk and flip individual
14:29bottles for a huge markup. Some, such as the TikTok famous Wakey Wines, achieved infamy when they were
14:34caught selling bottles or cans for as much as £100 each. KSI even had to step in at one point and
14:39scold resellers, saying that it was not ethical.
14:42It wasn't as bad over here. It did fly off the shelves for a little bit, but I think it might
14:46have something to do with the resale value of these online was pretty good. I've never seen
14:51anyone drinking it, and to be honest, I got everything at Target and online kind of no problem.
14:56Now, currently, the LA Dodgers limited edition bottles are pretty pricey on eBay. I'm assuming,
15:01once again, that has more to do with its scarcity than its taste.
15:04Even now, as we film this in October 2023, the Prime market hasn't exactly calmed all the way down.
15:08For some of the more standard flavors, the supply has now caught up with demand,
15:11and you're able to find them in most supermarkets for the standard retail price.
15:15For example, I was able to find the bottle of strawberry watermelon in Tesco for just £2.
15:19However, for some of the more exotic flavors, the only places you can find them
15:23are specialist candy shops or niche resellers. The only place I could find my bottle of glowberry was
15:28at one of those weird American candy stores which plague central London. This one bottle cost me
15:33£18.
15:34I wouldn't have paid £18 for a bottle of Prime, but you did expensive, so you didn't pay for it either.
15:41What is the most I would realistically pay for a bottle of Prime Hydration? I don't know,
15:45five bucks? You think five is high? How much would you pay?
15:48I've just been informed five dollars is too high.
15:50$150? You can't get anything for $150. What are you talking about?
15:53Fine. I would pay as much as Gatorade and Powerade and all the other aids are for this.
15:59It's hard to find empirical evidence as to whether or not the craze around Prime has kind of died down,
16:04but just from anecdotal evidence, I really don't think it has. Even when I was out buying the Prime
16:07for this episode, I would see kids in the stores just taking selfies with bottles of Prime like
16:12it was a celebrity. I think due to the scarcity and the demand, it's almost become like a status
16:16symbol among certain generations of kids. It's a race to see who can get the new flavors of Prime
16:20the fastest. People will, I guess, empty them out and just use them as like water bottles when they
16:24go to school. And again, it's just kind of like a way to flex on your peers. Besides converting their
16:29massive fan bases into loyal customers, KSI and Logan Paul have also been able to translate this
16:33into commercial partnerships. Prime is now an official drink supplier of the UFC, the LA Dodgers,
16:38and Arsenal, of which I believe KSI is a fan. And they're also the official sports drink partners of
16:43FC Barcelona and FC Bayern Munich. We've seen other influencers capitalize on their success
16:49in the food and beverage space. Mr. Beast, of course, has Beast Burger and his chocolate bars
16:54Feastables. Emma Chamberlain has a coffee brand, Chamberlain Coffee. Now, according to Paul,
16:59in the first year, the brand has cleared 250 million in retail sales. Goodness.
17:07Here are all the ingredients for a Prime Hydration ice pop flavor in the UK.
17:11These are the U.S. hydration ice pop ingredients.
17:15The ingredients are pretty similar overall. The UK has slightly more coconut water, 10.5%
17:19compared to America's 10%, but ours is actually reconstituted from a powder, whereas America's
17:24is from concentrate. Prime hydration in both countries boasts zero added sugar,
17:29but does contain artificial sweeteners, sucralose and acylflame, no I said it, acylflame K or ACE-K.
17:38According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, ACE-K raises health issues such as cancer,
17:43hormone disruption, and potential pregnancy risks. Per Healthline, there is also evidence suggesting that
17:48acetoacetamide, a compound formed in the body during the breakdown of ACE-K, may result in
17:53thyroid damage in lab animals. Ironically enough, the lack of sugar may be an issue for the very
17:58purpose of Prime Hydration. Electrolytes play a crucial role in making sure your body functions
18:03properly. When you exercise or play hard, you sweat, you lose not just water, but you also lose
18:09important electrolytes. Electrolytes are key to hydration, and Prime does contain electrolytes like
18:15magnesium and potassium. But the low amount of glucose may impair your body from properly
18:19absorbing the electrolytes, as glucose is useful in transporting them to your cells. Typically,
18:24you don't need glucose to absorb electrolytes, but it does help. Prime Energy is currently in hot
18:28water with the media, as well as the US government, because of its perceived excessive levels of
18:32caffeine. Here in the UK, our Prime Energy cans contain 140 milligrams of caffeine. To put that into
18:37perspective, a Grande coffee from Starbucks contains around 136. Energy cans in the US, however,
18:42contain 200 milligrams of caffeine, which is a 42.9% increase from the UK can. Because of this,
18:48Prime is currently experiencing a significant amount of backlash, resulting in some shops actually
18:52pulling it from shelves in order to protect kids' health. In July of this year, Senator Chuck Schumer
18:57called for an FDA probe of Prime and said it was a cauldron of caffeine that posed serious health
19:03concerns for kids. One Prime Energy contains 200 milligrams of caffeine, which is about as much
19:08caffeine in a six-pack of Coke. Does it right there on legally the smallest font you could put it in.
19:14However, looking at the caffeine amounts of some other drinks currently on the market in the US,
19:18paints a slightly different picture. Let's be clear, 200 milligrams in this can is a lot of caffeine.
19:23Pound for pound, it contains more caffeine than Monster Energy or Red Bull. But other American drinks,
19:28such as Bang Energy or Celsius Heat, contain 300 milligrams per can. That's 50% more than Prime.
19:34We don't have these in the UK. I've never heard of Bang or Celsius Energy and they sound terrifying.
19:39One distinction that Senator Schumer is highlighting is that Prime is aimed at a kids market,
19:43despite the fact that the can says not for children under the age of 18. Now, if that is the case,
19:49Prime still isn't the biggest offender. G Fuel, a brand that appears to also appeal to kids,
19:54specifically in the gaming space, has several drinks with 300 milligrams of caffeine. They have
20:00flavors like Rainbow Sherbert, Snow Cone, Hype Sauce that contain more caffeine than a Prime,
20:05as well as celebrity branded flavors from PewDiePie and someone or something called One Shot Girl.
20:11Both have 300 milligrams of caffeine in the can. Where's the outrage for that?
20:20A bottle of Ice Pop Prime Hydration in the US contains all of this.
20:24In the UK, a bottle of Ice Pop Prime Hydration contains the following. So in the UK, our Prime
20:29has slightly more calories, but less sodium. If you grab yourself a Prime Energy, I have the lemon
20:35lime flavor. It contains all of this. In the UK, the same drink, albeit in a slightly smaller can,
20:40contains the following. So it's almost identical to America's, although we have a little bit more
20:45sodium. Charlie's correctly pointed out that sachets would be way better for the environment,
20:49because you're not using plastic waste. So maybe I just hate the planet. I'm sorry,
20:52Greta Thunberg and polar bears. It's not possible. So am I going to make money flipping this on Facebook or what?