After last November’s boxing match between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul, Logan Paul (Jake’s brother) suggested he could beat Mike Tyson in a fight. So far, Logan hasn’t picked a fight with Iron Mike, but his company has picked a fight with soccer star Lionel Messi. This fight, though, will take place in a court in the Southern District of Florida, rather than in a boxing ring.
Prime Hydration sells sports drinks. The company was founded by a team that included Logan Paul and Olajide Olayinka Williams Olatunji, professionally known as “KSI.” (If I’m honest, I mostly included his full name so I could hear our lovely podcast narrator pronounce it.) Más+ Next Generation Beverage also sells sports drinks. That company was founded by a team that included…well, that’s what the lawsuit is about.
The Más+ website describes Messi as the “founder” of the company and includes various quotes from the star describing his involvement. For example, Messi states he couldn’t find a sports drink that he liked, so “I went to work on a drink of my own.” He also explains “why I named it Más+.” (If you’re wondering, “más” means “more” in Spanish and the + stands for “even more positivity.”)
Prime Hydration didn’t feel that positivity. In a lawsuit against its competitor that’s dripping with negativity, Prime Hydration argues that Messi was not involved in Más+ to the extent the website suggests. Among other things, the complaint alleges that Messi did not found the company, develop the beverage, or come up with the name. All of that happened before he joined.
The complaint alleges that the “false narrative and associated advertising” created by Más+ around Messi’s involvement has harmed Prime Hydration. Among other things, Prime Hydration wants the court to order Más+ to stop making the challenged claims and to award Prime Hydration monetary damages for alleged lost profits.
Just this summer, we posted about a class action alleging that Prime Hydration understated the caffeine content in its drinks. Although the court agreed that the products may have incorrectly stated the amount of caffeine, it determined that even if the drinks may contain a “smidgen more caffeine” than advertised, that wouldn’t likely be material to consumers.
If Messi had a smidgen less involvement in the development of the Más+ drinks than advertised, will that be material to consumers? We’ll have to see how the case turns out. Stay tuned for más developments.
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