The Australian subsidiary of the firm behind one of the most hyped influencer-led energy drinks of recent years has entered administration, leaving more than $8 million in outstanding debts and no clear path to a rescue buyout, new corporate filings confirm.
Congo Brands Australia, the Melbourne-based license holder for Logan Paul and KSI’s viral Prime energy drink and Mr Beast’s Lunchily snack brand, has already terminated all of its employees amid the liquidation process, administrator Alice Ruhe of The Ruhe Group confirmed during the company’s first creditors meeting held July 17.
Documents filed with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) lay bare the firm’s steep financial decline, which accelerated far beyond the worrying results disclosed in its last 2023 annual filing. The bulk of the outstanding debts are owed to related international entities: parent company Congo LLC is owed $8.85 million, while international arms of the brand including Congo Brands Korea, Japan and Switzerland are owed $361,900, $39,987, and $854,327 respectively. Third-party vendors that handled logistics, manufacturing and packaging for the brand are also out of pocket, with claims totaling more than half a million dollars from firms including BR International Logistics, Refresco Australia and CCL Label.
Against its more than $8 million in total liabilities, the company holds just $12,000 in cash reserves, alongside $400,000 in remaining inventory and $265,000 in outstanding trade receivables, according to administrator filings.
The collapse caps a dramatic two-year fall from grace for the Prime brand in Australia, which exploded into mainstream popularity after its 2022 launch, driven by massive social media hype from co-founders Logan Paul and KSI, two of the world’s biggest digital content creators. At the height of its popularity, the drink developed a cult following among Australian schoolchildren, with resold bottles sometimes fetching as much as $30 per can amid widespread retail shortages.
Financial filings show the brand’s domestic sales have plummeted since that peak. In the 2023 financial year, revenue halved from $31 million the previous year to just $14.5 million, with the firm posting a net loss of $1.42 million for the 2024 fiscal year. Over the 12-month period between 2023 and 2024, the company wrote down $4.57 million in unsold inventory, cutting its total stock holdings from $28.9 million to just $1.7 million. By the end of the last reporting period, the firm held only $84,855 in cash reserves against $7.92 million in already accumulated debts, setting the stage for its eventual collapse.