Lionel Messi's drink company Mas+ sues KSI and Logan Paul's Prime Hydration - Reports
Lionel Messi's drink company Mas+ has reportedly sued YouTubers Olajide Olatunji (KSI) and Logan Paul's drink company Prime Hydration. Prime was released in January 2022, racking up sales as the drinks were widely promoted by the YouTubers.
In June 2024, Messi released Mas+. However, there seemed to be similarities between Prime and Mas+, especially in the bottle design. On the day Mas+ was released, KSI posted a snippet on Instagram Stories where someone said:
"He copied my whole f***ing flow! Word for word, bar for bar."
Now, according to Dexerto, Mas+ distributor Mark Anthony International has filed a lawsuit, accusing Prime Hydration of being "anti-competitive". The YouTubers took the similarities seriously, with the lawsuit claiming that Prime had reached out to Mark Anthony. The distributor noted that they were asked to stop selling Mas+, with Prime threatening to sue for "trademark and trade dress infringement."
Mark Anthony argued in the lawsuit that they had confirmed there was no confusion between Mas+ and Prime products.
Mark Anthony disclosed that it had commissioned an experienced survey expert to conduct a consumer perception survey to assess whether there was any measurable likelihood of confusion between PRIME and MÁS+ BY MESSI. The results in the lawsuit read (via Dexerto):
"Unsurprisingly, the survey demonstrated no likelihood of confusion at all between the two products, which further supported Mark Anthony's position that confusion is not likely."
The suit also included public scandals that were connected to Prime's co-founder Logan Paul, adding:
"Because of these controversies and other public stunts, the public understands who Logan Paul is, and it can easily distinguish him and his business partners from Mr. Messi."
I wanted a drink that I could share and enjoy: Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi shared the reason behind launching Mas+ when he released promotional content for the drink on his social media page. The legendary forward was holding a bottle of Mas+ alongside his wife and children, and the caption of his Instagram post read:
"We created @masbymessi because I wanted a drink that I could share and enjoy with my family, friends and teammates. I want to thank my family for joining me on this journey as a founder of Más+."
"Head to masbymessi.com to find out more about our story and sign up for early access. We are all very excited to share Positive Hydration with you soon."
The post also included videos of Lionel Messi juggling a football, and also playing alongside his wife and children as they shared a sip. Lionel Messi now plays in Major League Soccer with Inter Miami, where he has been successful, winning the Leagues Cup and the Supporters Shield in less than two years.