Schumer calls for investigation into Prime energy drink created by YouTube stars Logan Paul, KSI

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is calling on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to investigate Prime, a popular influencer-backed energy drink, for its high caffeine content and social media marketing campaign apparently directed at children. 

“One of the summer’s hottest status symbols for kids is not an outfit. It’s not a toy. It’s a beverage. But buyer and parents beware, because it’s a serious health concern for the kids it so feverishly targets,” Schumer said at a press conference Sunday. 

“And the problem here is the product has so much caffeine in it that it puts Red Bull to shame. But, unlike Red Bull, it is specifically targeted — the advertising campaign — is targeted at kids under 18,” he added.

Prime, founded by YouTube stars Logan Paul and KSI, contains 200 milligrams of caffeine per 12 ounces, about the same as two cans of Red Bull. The brand also sells a hydration beverage that does not contain caffeine.

Prime gained instant popularity when it launched last year and produced long lines at grocery stores, the Associated Press reported. The product also caused “reports of school yard resale markets,” according to the AP, which noted that some schools in the United Kingdom and Australia banned the energy beverage, citing health concerns.

Schumer said his letter to the FDA called for an investigation into Prime for “No. 1, its claims; No. 2, its marketing aimed at kids; and No. 3, its eye-popping caffeine content.”

Prime representatives said in a statement to The Hill that they “welcome discussions with the FDA” about consumer safety but stressed the importance of distinguishing between the brand’s two products: Hydration, which they described as “a healthier sports drink alternative” in a bottle, and Energy, the canned beverage, which they argued “contains a comparable amount of caffeine to other top selling energy drinks, all falling within the legal limit of the countries it’s sold in.”

“[PRIME Energy] complied with all FDA guidelines before hitting the market and states clearly on packaging, as well as in marketing materials, that it is an energy drink and is not made for anyone under the age of 18,” the representatives said.

“As a brand, our top priority is consumer safety, so we welcome discussions with the FDA or any other organization regarding suggested industry changes they feel are necessary in order to protect consumers,” they continued.

While Prime’s website indicates that the energy drink “is not recommended for children under the age of 18, women who are pregnant or nursing, or individuals who are sensitive to caffeine,” some physicians have still expressed concern that the warning is not preventing children from consuming it.

“We, as physicians, are very concerned. These strengths, and the amount of caffeine in these strengths, can give children and teens headaches. It can give them jitters, nervousness. It can interfere with the sleep cycle, which is so important to the developing brain,” New York pediatrician Edith Bracho Sanchez said at the news conference Sunday.

“And we also know — again, common-sense science, we’ve seen it happen before — that when these products are marketed and advertised in this flashy cool way through influencers and celebrities, the first audience that is listening, that is ready to purchase in whatever way they can purchase, are kids,” Sanchez added. 

The FDA did not respond to a request for comment from The Hill.

Updated at 10:46 a.m. ET.