Sainsbury’s forced to respond as customers fume over Prime stock

Spare a thought for Sainsbury's employees who are now being pestered about Prime - online and in stores.

The hydration drink from YouTubers KSI and Logan Paul has previously sparked chaotic scenes in supermarkets across the country, with customers clamouring to get their hands on the sought after beverage whenever stock becomes available.

And as tends to be the case when demand outstrips supply, there have been people - and shops - reselling the drinks at extortionate prices.

But yesterday, Sainsbury's began selling the drink, and once again, many customers have been left empty-handed.

On Twitter, the supermarket has been responding to complaining customers, apologising to those that were unable to get Prime, pointing them in the direction of its stock checking site, and reiterating its three bottles per person limit.

Twitter

"Got up early to take the boy one to @sainsburys so he could get prime. Except they haven't got any so now we have to go back tomorrow," one mum grumbled.

"Walked an hour to Sainsbury's just to be told they haven't had it delivered yet. F**king ridiculous," another vented.

A third wrote: "Hi, we went to a store at 7 this morning but got told prime couldn’t be put out till 12. The manager said he would leave some back for us and the few others waiting however when we just went back we got told that no more prime can be handed out today."

While a fourth added: "No Prime in Sainsbury's... One big con? The people want answers..."

As you can see, people are behaving very bizarrely indeed all over some colourful drinks.

Such is the hype around Prime, there is even a Prime Tracker Twitter account that provides updates on where and when you can grab the drinks.

Last week, the page tweeted screenshots of a Sainsbury's staff update confirming the drink was going on sale.

Prime

"We're launching Prime Hydration (a popular drink from Youtubers KSI and Logan Paul) in your store," the staff update read.

"This is an amazing opportunity for Sainsbury's as it has been a massive trend in the market, selling out in Aldi and Asda with lots of media attention. It should deliver over £4 million in incremental sales for the business.

"We'll be stocking four of the original 'core' flavours, as well as a KSI Limited edition Orange and Mango flavour. The KSI flavour has only just been released online this week and we will be the first retailer to launch it."

Following on from this, the supermarket sent out an 'urgent' update to staff, informing them of purchase limits and warning that stores are expected to be hectic.

According to screenshots shared by Prime Tracker, the initialism-laden staff memo read: "We expect stores to be very busy when the product launches on Tuesday as the launch of Prime coincides with predicted late pancake day purchases.

"Throughout this, colleague safety is our number one priority. Please follow this advice from the Crime and Security team on how to handle possible disruption in store, with a focus on 'People over product' and 'Capture on camera'.

"This guidance includes a checklist, which should be read ahead of launch."

It continued: "Originally, we let stores know that customers can buy up to 10 items per SKU. However, this has changed to 3 Prime bottles per customer, across all SKUs. This is in response to social media activity observed over the weekend, and in line with our competitors."

Topics: UK News, Sainsbury's, Food And Drink, KSI, Logan Paul

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey