Más+, the newer hydration brand belonging to soccer star Lionel Messi, has filed a lawsuit against rival Prime Hydration, a brand co-founded by YouTubers Logan Paul and KSI-alleging anti-competitive business practices. Distributed by Mark Anthony International, Más+ has been on the rise in the sports drink market since the brand’s 2024 launch. However, it finds itself at odds with one of the market’s other heavy hitters: Prime.
At the root of the complaint, Más+ says Prime is trying to unnecessarily hinder the sale of its product by claiming trademark and packaging similarities. In the filing, Prime has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Mark Anthony, threatening a lawsuit over what it describes as violations of trade dress and design trademarks. It says Más+’s product packaging too closely mimics Prime’s and could confuse consumers.
Mark Anthony International, however, answers that Prime revealed a plan to hold hostage industry-standard design elements in bottle shape and color to hobble rivals. In a recent consumer survey, no real confusion between Más+ and Prime was detected in the public’s minds. Mark Anthony now asks the court to declare that Más+ packaging does not violate Prime’s trademarks.
The suit also points to one stark contrast between their marketing strategies. Messi, a globally widely regarded highly respected athlete, brings an aura of trust and professionalism to Más+, while Prime’s marketing is thickly associated with Logan Paul’s controversial persona, tainted by public scandals for years in the past. These differences, the lawsuit argues, make it unlikely that consumers would confuse the two brands.
“Because of these controversies and other public stunts, the public understands who Logan Paul is, and it easily can distinguish him and his business partners from Mr. Messi,”
the suit states.
Prime Hydration is a beverage company co-founded by KSI and online celebrity Logan Paul. This company has also been involved in some legal controversies. The most notable involved a class-action suit over the purported inclusion of PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” in its grape-flavored drinks. Exposure to such substances has been reported to increase risks of cancer and hormonal imbalances. Logan Paul publicly denied the charges, but after over a year in court, the suit was dismissed earlier this month.
But the case left a stain on Prime’s reputation. Prime has also settled a lawsuit over mislabeling caffeine, filed on behalf of a plaintiff who argued the brand sells its highly caffeinated drinks to children without proper warnings about health risks. More recently, Prime was the defendant in a trademark infringement lawsuit brought by the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, which claimed the brand used protected Olympic terms in its marketing without proper authorization.
It gets even worse for Prime’s legal woes: Logan Paul’s personal scandals. His infamous 2017 “Suicide Forest” video, filmed in Japan, elicited international outrage and seriously damaged his public image, even after a public apology. Most recently, Paul has faced criticism regarding his CryptoZoo project, which several have claimed is mismanaged and fraudulent.
As a result, there seems to be a proportional amount of skepticism from the public in business ventures by him-again, including Prime. The snowballing legal issues, combined with the questionable history of Logan Paul, have brought Prime into sharp focus. While the recent dismissal of the PFAS lawsuit offers some respite, Prime’s reputation remains fragile-particularly as product safety and transparency concerns continue to arise.
