This morning, a popular energy
drink is under scrutiny.
Prime is a beverage
brand founded by YouTube stars Logan Paul
and KFC
Prime Energy
is especially popular with kids,
even though there is a warning label
that says it is not recommended
for anyone under age 18.
Senator Chuck Schumer
is now
calling on the FDA to investigate
the drink over its high caffeine
and the way it markets itself.
I have
a lot of parents may never heard of it,
but their kids have
because crime
is engaged
in a vast
advertising campaign aimed at kids.
Even though kids aren't supposed to drink
or drink with this much caffeine,
CNN has reached out to the FDA and prime
for comment on its energy drink.
Not yet received a response.
We should note the company
also makes a prime hydrate beverage,
which does not include caffeine
Joining us
now is CNN medical
correspondent Meg Terrell
and CNN business
and politics correspondent.
Vanessa, your quick break
overserved with you.
The Senate majority leader saying
kids shouldn't
drink the amount of caffeine in prime.
How much caffeine does this drink have
and how much is safe for kids to consume?
Yeah,
so this
drink has about
200 milligrams of caffeine.
In a 12 ounce can.
And to try to put that into some context,
that's about two bottles of Red Bull.
Those are smaller
bottles, about 8.4 ounces
in a Red Bull can.
Or about six cans of Coke.
So that's in one of these cans.
And according to the American Academy
of Pediatrics, really, kids
shouldn't have any caffeine
Some pediatricians say for kids
who are 12 and older,
maybe up to 100 milligrams per day,
that's a soda or two for adults.
The FDA usually says about 400 milligrams
per day generally doesn't affect people.
But for kids, the warnings are,
you know, this can affect their sleep.
It can cause
dehydration, higher
blood pressure, anxiety.
And there are concerns about
too much caffeine's impact
on their development
in terms of neurological development
in their cardiovascular systems, guys.
And you see Chuck Schumer really
taking aim at the marketing here.
So, Vanessa, on that note,
how is prime
cornering the market
and getting the attention of kids?
Well, primarily
exploited on social media.
On TikTok alone,
they have 3.4 million followers.
42 million likes.
This is also driven in part by Logan
Paul, the co-founder
who has millions of followers himself.
He does a lot of the advertising
for the brand.
But it's important to note
that this is the energy drink
side of the brand.
There's also the sports drink side.
But the energy market is huge.
In 20, 22
alone, sales were at about $58 billion,
billion dollars this year.
We're going to see
about $62 billion globally
and projected in the next four years.
$83 billion.
And most of those sales are happening
right here in North America.
Another way
that this brand has gotten
sort of their face on the map
is they're sponsoring sports
teams, they're sponsoring the L.A.
Dodgers, they're sponsoring Arsenal,
the soccer club Barcelona,
also based sports group,
which is a sponsorship group
for youth sports.
They are in good company
you have Adidas also sponsoring Arsenal.
You have Nike and Coca-Cola
sponsoring Barcelona.
So clearly,
they are trying to make a play
and get their name out there.
And it seems to be working, guys.
Yeah, it's not subtle.
I'm slightly confused
how you consume the AR.
You drink
because all the promos
have them like pouring it on
their their heads
On a serious note, some
of the prime products say it's, quote,
not recommended for children under 18.
If you're the FDA and you're
you do actually take a look at this.
Is that enough?
Well, it really depends.
I think from the FDA perspective,
from what I've been hearing from experts
this morning
on whether they are hearing
about instances of actual harm
coming from this.
I was talking with former
FDA commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb.
He pointed out when he was in the role,
you know,
he issued
public health advisories
around things like this.
So that's just
to let people know about the situation
basically put out a warning
and some information
so that parents know about this.
That is sort of a softer way of
of getting at the issue
than actually taking
any kind
of enforcement action,
which I'm hearing from experts,
is a much harder thing for the FDA
to do here.
But really, it's, you know,
is this actually causing harm?
And the marketing,
the nature of it
is that it specifically
bringing more children into the product?
Yeah, it's becoming
quite the status
symbol among children, right.
To have these drinks in hand.
It's no longer the shoes or whatever,
you know, kids.
Popular on kids. It's about the drink.
So this is really
a fascinating conversation.
Thank you so much, Meg, Vanessa,
we appreciate it.