Meet Prime Tracker\u2019s founder: The story behind the viral app\u2019s creation saved by KSI Instagram: drinkprime \/ Tom BastablePRIME Hydration is the #1 paid Shopping App in the App Store right now \u2014 but its current prosperity almost didn\u2019t happen. We spoke with the app\u2019s founder about the highs of achieving online success and the lows of facing deletion from one of his idols. Last year, YouTube stars KSI and Logan Paul famously ended their rivalry to create a joint project that took the internet by storm. Dubbed \u2018PRIME Hydration,\u2019 their sports beverage intended to replenish electrolytes without the need for tons of sugar or calories. Since its launch in early 2022, PRIME Hydration has released two new flavors, a series of flavor packets, and now even boasts a line of energy drinks that have already sold out online in the United States. However, getting your hands on a bottle of PRIME isn\u2019t an easy task, even a year later. Supply issues and online resellers have been making problems for fans who just want to support their favorite creators, with some stores even outright banning the sale of PRIME to certain individuals due to the drink\u2019s viral nature. Luckily, someone has come along to save the day. The PRIME Tracker app helps fans in the UK find out which stores have PRIME in stock in real-time \u2014 and although it\u2019s a godsend for PRIME fiends now, it was in danger of deletion not too long ago. We spoke with PRIME Tracker founder Tom Bastable about his journey in creating the viral app, being recognized by KSI, and how he recovered after receiving a deletion notice in the midst of PRIME\u2019s heyday not even a year ago. Why Tom Bastable created the PRIME Tracker app Tom Bastable claims he created PRIME as a direct response to ASDA\u2019s \u201cembarrassingly prehistoric stock system,\u201d hoping to help fans of Logan Paul and KSI to get their hands on the drink in an easier, more straightforward way. \u201cAt first, ASDA were listing PRIME for sale via their online grocery system,\u201d Bastable explained. \u201cNo one would end up getting these orders, because their stock system is too slow for PRIME\u2019s demand, and the stock they said was in-stock wasn\u2019t. I later found out it also relies on manual counts etc., too. It\u2019s a joke, considering the world we live in and the incredible system Tesco have implemented. \u201cASDA then stopped the social media team from communicating delivery dates \u2013 and that was it. I had the idea for the tracker before things got to this point, I waited for a few weeks hoping someone else would make it \u2013 after no one did, I didn\u2019t really have a choice, as the idea was one of those that kept screaming out to me.\u201d Why is PRIME Hydration never in stores? Despite PRIME being a \u2018prime\u2019 product on the market right now, the beverage has experienced many issues with supply and demand, as many fans have complained about not being able to find it in stores or stock being sold out very quickly. Bastable has the inside scoop on why PRIME fans might not be able to find stock near them \u2014 and he says it\u2019s likely due to fans buying, and then reselling the bev to turn a quick buck. \u201cWe have a lot of data which is becoming more accurate as we grow and more insiders come forward, so we have a good idea of what\u2019s happening,\u201d he began. \u201cASDA staff buying stock to resell is a problem. We know that a few specific stores receive good amounts of stock, but it never hits the shelves. We don\u2019t know this because of KSI\u2019s comment on the Fella\u2019s podcast, we know this because of our numerous ASDA insiders that talk to us on our Discord, and the reports we see in the app. So this is a contributor, but I don\u2019t think it\u2019s the main reason we can\u2019t buy it easily. \u201cI believe the main reason we\u2019re still tracking PRIME and not buying it with a meal deal every day are resellers. It\u2019s like a new Crypto gold rush \u2014 if you spend \u00a32, you\u2019re almost guaranteed a 5x return. Who\u2019s going to say no to that when the UK\u2019s going through a cost of living crisis?\u201d How does the PRIME Tracker app work? After relying on ASDA\u2019s \u201cinaccurate\u201d stock app, Bastable has since turned to fans to help report when their local stores have PRIME in stock, using a system to verify their location, including photos, to get accurate info. \u201cWe implemented a crowd-sourced system that would rely on users reporting stock as they find it. Funnily enough, this didn\u2019t work too well as the demographic PRIME has loves a bit of pi**-taking. 80% of reports were fake, it was a total mess,\u201d he admitted. \u201c[For version 3], we paid a team of freelancers to phone around every known store that would actually receive stock to find it. This is when accuracy started to improve, but costs also increased. \u201cWe still phone around to stores that we don\u2019t get routine user reports for, but we\u2019ve also updated the app to GPS-verify each user report and make submitting a photo of stock mandatory. This has made user reports a credible asset again and surprisingly accurate.\u201d PRIME Tracker creator describes \u201cemotional\u201d app takedown notice While the app is a great success right now \u2014 with Bastable claiming it\u2019s been in the Top 3 downloaded apps on the App Store since November \u2014 this wasn\u2019t always the case. In fact, PRIME Tracker faced deletion in 2022, prompting him to put a hold on the app for some time. Bastable says he got a takedown notice back in August 2022, calling the whole ordeal \u201cemotional.\u201d \u201cIt was a single line, cold email that I received via LinkedIn after some hard months of working on the app and honing the verification processes,\u201d he explained. \u201cThere was also a phone call that followed from another person. This now obviously wasn\u2019t the case, considering he\u2019s just featured the app in a video, but at the time that feeling of thinking that someone I\u2019ve idolized for a decade wanted something I\u2019d made taken down, or even that they were annoyed by it, really sucked \u2013 and is the reason I complied and temporarily stopped tracking PRIME.\u201d That being said, after \u201cseveral weeks of self-loathing,\u201d Bastable started up a Discord channel and got back to it. He says that fans of the PRIME Tracker gave him the confidence to start again. \u201cThat was the first real interaction I had with the app users outside of occasional Twitter messages, and it made me realize how much these guys liked the app. After a month or two of 10k+ Discord users asking for the app to come back (big shoutout to our amazing Discord staff), we re-designed it slightly and re-released it. I was a little bit worried at first, as I was still convinced JJ hated what I\u2019d made \u2013 but as soon as more and more users sent us their success photos on Twitter it made it all worth it.\u201d KSI supports the PRIME Tracker app Luckily, Bastable didn\u2019t have to worry about any negative feedback from KSI for long. Come 2023, Bastable\u2019s app was praised by the YouTuber in a video, where he described it as a \u201cgood app to try and find some PRIME\u201d amid the ongoing shortage. \u201cNever did I expect JJ to pull out his phone and start using [the app]!\u201d Bastable exclaimed. \u201cAnd recommending it? And showing a demo of it? Just typing this out I\u2019m getting hyped about it \u2013 it\u2019s just the best feeling.\u201d \u201cI just can\u2019t thank him enough. Seeing someone you\u2019ve idolized for a decade show appreciation for something you\u2019ve poured everything into is a once-in-a-lifetime thing.\u201d What\u2019s next for PRIME Tracker Right now, Bastable says that an Android version of the PRIME Tracker app is coming at the end of the week \u2014 so by January 16, Android users should be able to track PRIME near them. There\u2019s also a V5 update to the app on the way, which will \u201cimprove accuracy and should hopefully include upcoming delivery dates so that users are informed of a store\u2019s next delivery date.\u201d According to Bastable, \u201cThey\u2019ll even be able to sync it with their calendar.\u201d That\u2019s not all; the Tracker will also include the available stock for PRIME Energy as it releases in the coming months. But despite all these forthcoming changes, he\u2019s still remaining \u201crealistic\u201d about the app\u2019s future. \u201cWe\u2019re not planning too much further ahead PRIME-wise as it stands, as we\u2019re being fairly realistic in that we know we won\u2019t be required once stock\/demand stabilizes. I do think though that there\u2019s the potential to build a platform from what we\u2019ve made here, and it\u2019s something we\u2019re considering. Since JJ included us in his video, the platform\u2019s exploded \u2013 so there\u2019s definitely a lot of thought to be done with regards to my career and future potential as a tracking platform.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Meet Prime Tracker\u2019s founder: The story behind the viral app\u2019s creation saved by KSI Instagram: drinkprime \/ Tom BastablePRIME Hydration is the #1 paid Shopping App in the App Store right now \u2014 but its current prosperity almost didn\u2019t happen. We spoke with the app\u2019s founder about the highs of achieving online success and the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55082","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55082"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55082\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}