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This week, Caesar Bacarella, co-owner of Alpha Prime Racing, sued Prime Hydration, known for its part-owners Logan Paul and KSI. The suit claimed that the hydration and energy drink company was creating confusion in the marketplace by using the “Prime” name. However, this is not the first time either brand has found itself in the courtroom.
Prime, founded in 2022, sells hydration drinks in the same style as Gatorade or Body Armour. It also has a line of energy drinks similar to Red Bull and Monster.
Brands with celebrities tied to them will be sued from time to time. Prime has all-star power with endorsements from Kevin Durant and Patrick Mahomes. The company has also entered into deals within motorsports, notably even in NASCAR.
The dominant brand of hydration drink in NASCAR is Body Armour, but Prime is now seen in victory lane with Kyle Larson. Before teaming with Larson, the team even sponsored Timmy Hill in the 2022 Alsco Uniforms 300 at Charlotte.
The brand has seen suits mainly regarding its caffeine content and claiming its products allegedly contain “forever chemicals.” Paul has claimed that both of these are false. However, there has been a recent example of a legal snare in branding, which is the source of the lawsuit with Bacarella.
The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee recently sued Prime, alleging Prime violated its trademarks with a drink similar to the ones commonly associated with the Olympics and Team USA.
To race fans, Alpha Prime is the name of a race team. However, that refers to the team co-owned by Tommy Joe Martins and Bacarella. The team uses the Alpha Prime Sports branding founded by Bacarella.
Bacarella, an underdog in the Xfinity Series, alongside the team, has gained a strong following from those fans who like to see the smaller teams perform well. Bacarella’s company sells health supplements and is notable for its Prime Bites product.
A Bloomberg law report states that the bites have been the point of a lawsuit earlier this year. The source of the lawsuit was that the bites allegedly were mislabeled in their protein content.
However, Alpha Prime has also found itself in the court on trademark matters.
In late 2020, ATP Science Proprietary, an Australian company, sued Bacarella, claiming that they allegedly had trademarked the Alpha Prime branding before Bacarella used the name for his company.
Now, the driver and his company have found themselves on the other side of the table; similar to his time on the track, Bacarella is an underdog, but rather than his opponents being JR Motorsports or Joe Gibbs Racing, it’s a major influencer-backed corporation.
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