Lionel Messi is taking on Prime with a new sports drink

By Jordan Valinsky, CNN

New York (CNN) — Logan Paul’s Prime drink has some new competition in the form of the G.O.A.T.

Soccer superstar Lionel Messi has partnered with White Claw’s parent company to create a new hydration beverage, marking his entrance into the $33 billion category dominated by entrenched competitors Paul’s Prime, Gatorade and BodyArmor that have been vying for consumers’ growing thirst for energy drinks.

Despite Messi’s star power, the drink still faces a challenging market, with longstanding competitors. And the drink is also a new foray into non-alcoholic drinks for Mark Anthony Brands, as Americans consume less alcohol.

Más+ by Messi is a low-sugar drink containing electrolytes and vitamins without artificial sweeteners, colors or caffeine. It comes in four flavors including Miami Punch for his current team Inter Miami and Orange d’Or, a nod to the eight times he won the prestigious Ballon d’Or trophy.

The drink, available in cans and bottles, will first be released in Miami on June 13 followed later by a larger rollout on its website in July and to US supermarkets in August. A global launch is planned for later this year.

Since Messi’s arrival to Major League Soccer, the league said that it has seen its sponsorship revenue grow 15% to $587 million, with some big names like Celsius becoming its official energy drink. The league didn’t immediately comment on the potential new rival from Messi.

The drink is part of a new non-alcoholic beverage unit for Mark Anthony Brands, the owner of White Claw and Mike’s Hard Lemonade. The company has been expanding its portfolio with new non-alcoholic options, including White Claw 0% Alcohol Seltzer, as consumers dial back drinking and the categories blur.

Hydration and energy drinks are projected to be a $60 billion market by 2032, growing roughly 6% annually, according to Precedence Research.

Still, attaching Messi’s name to a beverage doesn’t guarantee success, since it’s a competitive category dominated by established competitors, according to Andrea Hernández, founder of Snaxshot, a food and beverage insights platform.

“The category is saturated, so it all comes down to price parity and distribution, assuming Messi has secured some good deals to try and actually compete with not only Prime but also Gatorade, BodyArmor and others,” she told CNN. “The only advantage they carry is tied to Messi’s image.”

However, his “fandom extends wide, and he’s almost hero-like for new generation of upcoming athletes, particularly in a massive market like Latin America,” she said, adding that Prime’s popularity and distribution hasn’t yet extended to that region.

She also notes that the Messi’s drinks are using cane sugar, a new trend with beverages since some zero sugar drinks are turning off some people because of its taste.

“People forget having a good tasting product also goes a long way,” Hernández said. “Gen Alpha is up for grabs, and that is who these new generation energy drinks are aiming to capture especially as they enter teenage years.”

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