Refresco Beverages has filed a lawsuit in Delaware with Congo Brands Procurement LLC and Prime Hydration LLC related to their bottling plant in Truesdale. 

Refresco purchased the bottling plant from Coca-Cola in 2021 and had entered into an agreement with Prime Hydration LLC to dedicate one of the service lines at that plant to bottling and producing Prime Energy Drinks. 

Prime Energy Drinks, produced by popular Youtubers Logan Paul and Olajide Olatunji, known as “KSI” online, exploded in popularity when it was released in January 2023. That popularity has diminished amidst lawsuits alleging the mislabeling of their caffeine content, among other issues, according to Business Insider. 

As their sales decreased, Refresco has alleged that Prime Energy illegally reneged on their agreement to use the service line at the Truesdale plant and has sued for breach of contract. 

According to the lawsuit, the “Truesdale Agreement” stated that Refresco would dedicate one of the production lines at the plant to the bottling of Prime Energy Drinks. This required that Refresco purchase new equipment for the line to accommodate Prime’s unique bottle design, changes that cost the company approximately $22 million, according to previous Record reporting. 

In December 2022, the city of Truesdale granted Refresco, valued at nearly $8 billion in 2022, $607,000 in tax abatements on the purchase of the new equipment with the promise that the new line would bring new business and at least 30 new jobs to Truesdale. 

That production line was completed earlier this year, in line with the Truesdale Agreement according to the lawsuit. However, the lawsuit states Prime Energy never submitted any product orders to the plant, despite repeated requests from Refresco. 

Refresco then alleges that on March 20 of this year, Prime Energy refused outright to honor the agreement, and said they would not be purchasing any products from the plant. 

“At no time before March 20, 2024 did Defendants inform Refresco that they did not intend to fulfill their Monthly Volume Commitments and Annual Volume Commitments under the Truesdale Agreement, much less indicate that they would refuse to make any purchases of product from the Dedicated Line in April 2024 or thereafter,” states the lawsuit. 

This has left Truesdale in a difficult situation, since their agreement with Refresco hinges on the use of that production line to bring revenue and jobs to the city, and without the production from Prime Energy, that agreement seems uncertain. 

Truesdale Mayor Jerry Cannon said he was in conversation with officials with Refresco and they are looking for solutions as the situation develops. 

“We are working with Refresco to make sure they are in compliance with the abatement agreement we have with them,” said Cannon. “The board (of aldermen) and I will be updated soon on that progress.”

Legal counsel for Refresco could not be reached for comment.