Social media influencers Logan Paul and KSI’s PRIME Hydration has signed a three-year marketing partnership with mixed martial arts organization UFC, replacing BodyArmor – which has sponsored the UFC for the past five years – as the “Official Global Sports Drink of UFC.”
The terms of the deal were not officially disclosed on Tuesday but Sports Business Journal reports it is in the “high seven-figure range.” Monster will remain the UFC’s official energy drink sponsor.
The joint venture brings together one of the fastest growing sports with two juggernauts of social media reaching hundreds of millions of consumers. PRIME will benefit from UFC’s broadcast visibility within an estimated 900 million TV households in 175 countries. Along with the advertising revenue, UFC will gain even more presence on social media through Paul and KSI’s tens of millions of followers.
“This partnership enables us to tap into UFC’s fan base and reach a massive global audience across multiple platforms, giving us the ability to flex our marketing muscles and prove we are a dominating force in the industry,” said KSI in a statement.
PRIME, which is operated by Kentucky-based portfolio company Congo Brands, was launched last year as a partnership between British-born social media influencer KSI (born Olajide Olayinka Williams “JJ” Olatunji) and YouTube star turned professional wrestler Logan Paul. The product is a coconut water-based beverage with branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) to aid muscle recovery, B vitamins, antioxidants and electrolytes to encourage hydration.
The joint venture will make its primetime debut for UFC 284 on February 11 at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. UFC will be integrating the beverage into all of its Pay-Per-View and Fight Night events by renaming the Octagon’s Red and Blue corners as PRIME Hydration Recovery Zones. Also, PRIME will be featured in the UFC’s reality television shows Dana White’s Contender Series and The Ultimate Fighter.
Additionally, PRIME will be named an inaugural Presenting Partner of the mixed martial arts league’s non-profit organization the UFC Foundation which will develop youth programs that will be administered in under-resourced communities.
“I’ve been a fan of UFC for as long as I can remember, so having the opportunity to partner with them and amplify the PRIME brand is a check off the bucket list,” said Paul in a press release. “Together, we are a global powerhouse and this collaboration is sure to extend far beyond the Octagon with an opportunity to give back in the process with the UFC Foundation.”
Paul’s brother Jake has been critical in the last year of UFC president Dana White and how the mixed martial arts league pays its fighters. In a tweet yesterday, Jake Paul said that he is “always happy for my brother’s successes and while I have zero involvement in his drink, I hope UFC will share the revenue it receives with fighters.”
Already this month, PRIME announced the launch of its third product line, PRIME Energy, which joins the brand’s portfolio that includes the core liquid hydration drink as well as mixable sticks.
The brand has made a rapid expansion into the beverage category, telling BevNET recently that it sold internally $115 million in 2022 and anticipates $150 million in internal sales for Q1 2023. The company already netted $45 million in sales during January, a representative from Conga Brands told BevNET.
In June, PRIME inked a sponsorship with English Premier League team Arsenal to be the designated hydration partner for the 2022/23 season.