A North East shop owner has described the moment people began flocking to his shop after stocking the highly sought after Prime Hydration drink.
Anish Gupta only began stocking the trending drink at Winlaton Mill Convenience Store on Wednesday after struggling to locate stock. But within 20 minutes of it hitting the shelves, people were flocking to the store to get their hands on the drink, which has been promoted by YouTube stars KSI and Logan Paul.
Anish, 20, said: "Within 20 minutes people I'd never seen before were coming to the shop. The amount of kids running round the shop shouting 'Where is it? Where is it? Where's the Prime?' I've never seen so many people in the shop, but it was nice."
Read more: Fans furious as popular Prime Hydration drink on sale for 1,000% of retail price in Durham
"I opened the shop at 7.30 this morning and straight away there was people asking for it. I've had people messaging on Facebook asking me to keep them some behind the counter, but I haven't been doing that because I want to keep it fair for people."
"I've been trying to get my hands on Prime for ages but it wasn't easy to get," he added.
The Prime Hydration drink went viral after fans of KSI and Logan Paul tried desperately to purchase the drink, which would sell out within minutes. It recently hit headlines after fans of the YouTube stars went wild when it launched for a limited time in Aldi stores on December 29.
Anish currently stocks two flavours of the drink, Blue Raspberry and Tropical Punch. However, there are seven Prime Hydration flavours, all of which are currently sold out on the Drink Prime website.
But despite the hype, Anish said he is not looking to profit from sales of the drink and is selling Prime for £7 which he explained is the same price he purchased it for, as well as VAT. Instead Anish hopes that stocking the drink will help build his store's relationship with the community after taking over ownership of the shop in July.
Anish said: "Some people have been saying that £7 is a lot to sell it for, but some shops have been selling it for £20. I'm selling it for cost price, the price that I bought it for and the VAT charge, so I'm not making any money from it."
He added: "The shop has lost a lot of customers over the years so my main motive was to get people back into the shop. My recommended price was £12 but I said I'm not selling it for £12 because I want to be able to get Prime for the people who can't get it."
Some stores have been met with criticism over recent weeks due to the price they were charging customers for the drink. One furious shopper slammed Dunelm Food Stores, in Durham, for selling the drink at an eye-watering £20 each.
Imad Ali, operations director for Aykley Group Limited, which runs Dunelm Food Stores, confirmed the shop is selling Prime Hydration for £20 but said it was due to "supply and demand".
"We are only getting them for £17 a bottle, so are only making £3 on each one," said Mr Ali. "If you have a look everywhere they are selling them for the same price."
While viral TikTok account, Wakey Wines, was recently banned from the social media platform after advertising Prime for £100.
Read next:
- Newcastle restaurants that have become celebrity haunts with Gordon Ramsay, Sam Fender and Amanda Holden among diners
- All the new stores and restaurants in Eldon Square as Newcastle centre welcomes more than 21 million shoppers in 2022
- Family's hope that brave Shiremoor four-year-old battling cancer will be home for Christmas
- Inside Newcastle's new cocktail bar where drinkers can sit around a bathtub, bed and hob
- See inside Newcastle's 'secret library' just a stone's throw from Central Station
