When I walk into a grocery store these days, I can’t escape the neon bottles. Prime Hydration is everywhere. It went from a YouTube hypebeast accessory to a global beverage staple in record time.

But whenever I see kids fighting over the last bottle of “Meta Moon,” I ask myself a question that most consumers ignore: Who actually owns this thing?

Common wisdom says it’s Logan Paul and KSI. They are the faces, the voices, and the hype-men. But as a business analyst observing the creator economy, I suspect the reality is much more corporate. Two YouTubers didn’t build a global supply chain overnight.

If you are Googling “Who owns Prime,” you are looking for the men behind the curtain. In this article, I am going to expose the corporate machinery of Congo Brands, audit the equity split, and give you my raw take on who is really cashing the biggest checks.

Who Are the Real Masterminds Behind Prime?

Let’s rip the band-aid off. Logan Paul and KSI are not the sole owners. In fact, they might not even be the majority owners.

In my view, the real geniuses here are two guys you’ve probably never heard of: Max Clemons and Trey Steiger.

These two are the founders of Congo Brands, a Kentucky-based product development firm. They are the operators. They handle the manufacturing, distribution, and retail relationships. Logan and KSI handle the noise.

Here is how I break down the division of labor (and likely power) in this partnership:

Role	The Players	What They Actually Do	My Subjective Value Assessment
The Face (Marketing)	Logan Paul & KSI	Viral stunts, boxing matches, social media posts.	Essential. Without them, it’s just salty water.
The Brain (Operations)	Max Clemons & Trey Steiger	Supply chain, Walmart contracts, FDA compliance.	The Foundation. Without them, the bottles never reach the shelves.
The Entity	Prime Hydration, LLC	The legal structure holding the IP.	The Billion-Dollar Baby.

How Is the Ownership Equity Likely Split?

Since Prime is a private company, they don’t publish a cap table. However, based on Logan Paul’s interviews and standard celebrity equity deals, we can make an educated guess.

I believe the split is structured to keep the creators motivated but the operators in control.

Many reports suggest a structure that looks something like this:

• Congo Brands (Max & Trey): ~50% – 60% (Controlling Interest)
• Logan Paul: ~20%
• KSI: ~20%

Why do I think this? Because Congo Brands financed the inventory. In the beverage world, inventory is expensive. In my opinion, Clemons and Steiger wouldn’t put up the capital without retaining operational control. Logan and KSI essentially traded their “Influence” for “Equity.”

The Secret Sauce: How Congo Brands Outsmarted Coca-Cola

While competitors analyze spreadsheets, Prime analyzed Attention.

In my view, the brilliance of the Prime business model isn’t the drink (which is basically coconut water and electrolytes); it’s the Distribution of Hype.

Feature	Coca-Cola / Gatorade	Prime Hydration	My Take
Launch Strategy	TV Ads & Billboards	Scarcity & Social Media	Prime weaponized FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out). Empty shelves became their best ad.
Target Audience	Everyone	Gen Z & Alpha	They didn’t try to please adults initially. They hooked the kids, and the parents followed with wallets.
Partnerships	Safe Athletes	Edgy Creators + UFC	Signing deals with the UFC legitimized them beyond YouTube.

The Ownership Clash: Private Agility vs. Public Bureaucracy

It’s worth pausing to look at who Logan and KSI are fighting against. To understand Prime’s success, you have to compare its owners with the owners of its biggest rival, Coca-Cola (BodyArmor/Powerade).

Prime is a speedboat; Coca-Cola is an aircraft carrier.

Comparison Point	Prime Hydration Owners	Coca-Cola Owners (The Competition)	My Analysis
Structure	Private Partnership	Public Corporation	Prime answers to 4 guys. Coke answers to Wall Street.
Key Decision Makers	Logan, KSI, Max, Trey	Board of Directors, BlackRock, Vanguard, Warren Buffett	Speed Kills. Prime can launch a flavor based on a meme in weeks. Coke needs focus groups and board approval, taking months.
Risk Tolerance	Extremely High	Low (Dividend Protective)	Prime owners are young and aggressive. Coke owners want stability and dividends. This allows Prime to be “edgy” and take risks Coke never would.
Motivation	“Disruption & Hype”	“Quarterly Earnings”	Prime is playing offense; Coke is playing defense.

My Take: The reason Prime feels so much more “alive” than Gatorade or Powerade is because its owners are in the trenches of the internet, not in a boardroom in Atlanta.

How Much Money Is Prime Actually Making?

The numbers are staggering. In year one alone, they reportedly cleared $250 million in retail sales. By the end of 2023, Logan claimed they had surpassed $1.2 billion in internal revenue.

But what about the future?

I predict that 2025-2026 will be the “Stabilization Phase.” The viral hype is cooling, and now they must operate like a real beverage giant.

Metric	2025-2026 Forecast	The “Why” Behind the Numbers
Annual Revenue	$800M – $1B	Stabilizing after the initial “mania.” Growth will come from international markets (India, China) rather than US expansion.
Valuation	$5 Billion+	If they maintain market share, a 5x multiple on revenue is standard for high-growth CPG brands.
Potential Exit	Acquisition Target	I suspect a giant like PepsiCo or Keurig Dr Pepper will try to buy them out to neutralize the threat.

Is the “Prime” Brand in Trouble?

We have to ask: Is the empire cracking?

Owning a beverage company isn’t all fun and games. Recently, Prime has faced scrutiny over caffeine levels in their Energy line and allegations regarding “Forever Chemicals” (PFAS).

I suspect this is where the ownership structure gets tested.

• When things go well: It’s “Logan and KSI’s drink.”
• When the FDA calls: It becomes “Congo Brands’ responsibility.”

Having professional operators like Clemons and Steiger is a safety net. They are the ones dealing with the lawyers while Logan films podcasts.

Conclusion: Who Wins in the End?

So, who owns Prime?

On paper, it is a joint venture between Congo Brands and the influencers. But in reality, ownership belongs to the Algorithm.

Prime exists because Logan Paul and KSI understand how to hack human attention better than Coca-Cola does. Congo Brands provided the bottle, but the boys provided the soul.

As we look toward 2026, I wouldn’t be surprised if they sell the whole company to a giant like PepsiCo or Keurig Dr Pepper. If that happens, the question won’t be “who owns it,” but “how many billions did they sell it for?”