Energy drink brand Celsius today revealed Jake Paul as its newest brand ambassador—effectively pitting Paul, and Celsius itself, against Paul’s brother, Logan, and his own burgeoning energy drink brand.

Jake Paul, the social media influencer and boxer, is the latest addition to Celsius’ existing network of athletes who serve as ambassadors for the brand, which includes Olympic snowboarder Shaun White and mixed martial artist Dustin Poirier. Paul will kick off the partnership with Celsius during a boxing match on Sunday against Tommy Fury—the half-brother of renowned boxer Tyson Fury—where he will don Celsius’ logo. Paul brought a can of the energy drink to a Thursday press conference about the upcoming match, prior to the official announcement of his partnership with Celsius. 

He will also represent the brand as he debuts his new career as a mixed martial artist in the Professional Fighters League; Celsius became the energy drink sponsor of the league in November.

The announcement comes on the heels of Logan Paul’s beverage brand, Prime, unveiling a new line of energy drinks called “Prime Energy” just a few weeks ago. The launch was supported with a pregame Super Bowl ad. The new beverages are already emerging as the latest challenger in the energy drink space, threatening to push Celsius out of that position, which may have been part of Celsius’ decision to partner with Jake Paul, said Duane Stanford, editor and publisher of Beverage Digest.

“If you’re Celsius, and you’ve got a brand like Prime—a sports drink that’s now moving into the energy drink space, and especially a brand that has come onto the scene very quickly and posted some good sales for just being around for a year; has a significant social media following; [and] is an influencer brand—it makes sense to play some defense when it comes to a brand like [Prime],” Stanford said. 

A representative for Jake Paul declined to comment on the fact that his brother backs a rival drink. Reached by email, Celsius CEO John Fieldly said the deal had “nothing to do with Prime energy,” adding “we chose Jake because of his drive and passion to be a top athlete and with his mission on helping others be their best. His mission to be a top performing athlete is our mission to provide that essential energy to help athletes achieve their goals.”

"The most successful partnerships are authentic in their formation and I am excited to partner with a company that has been a part of my day-to-day routine for a long time," Paul said in the press release. 

Celsius has quickly risen through the ranks of the $16 billion U.S. energy drink industry over the past few years, positioning itself alongside more-established brands such as Monster and Red Bull. The brand grew its dollar sales by 188% in 2021 and by another 182.5% across the first nine months of 2022, according to data from Beverage Digest. And in August, PepsiCo paid $550 million for an 8% stake in the energy drink brand. 

Over the past several months, Celsius has sought to appeal to Gen Z and Millennial consumers with its marketing, aiming to strengthen its presence on college campuses, specifically, by partnering with college student ambassadors through a marketing program called Celsius University.

Paul and Celsius will team up to create social media and other digital content that incorporates the energy drink into his training regimen ahead of Paul’s future boxing and PFL matches, according to a press release. Paul will create some of the content to share with the combined 70 million followers across his various social media accounts, while Celsius will produce other pieces of content, both in-house and with an agency, to feature on the brand’s own social and digital channels. The brand currently has 1.5 million followers on TikTok—double the number it had in April of last year—and another 476,000 on Instagram. 

“Jake has played a significantly positive role in the world of sports over the past few years and we’ve taken notice,” Fieldly said in the press release. “His advocacy efforts for female fighters and equal fighter pay have caught the attention of millions and we see the potential and synergy in this partnership as he continues to develop himself in his journey as an athlete.” 

Prime—which Logan Paul launched with rapper, YouTuber and boxer JJ Olatunji, also known as KSI, in early 2022—seems to be competing with Celsius for the same younger audience, leveraging its founders’ status as social media influencers and athletes. Prime has also similarly ventured into the mixed martial arts space, becoming a sponsor of the UFC last month.

“Celsius has done a really good job on TikTok and social media reaching Gen Z and Millennials … as the energy drink space broadens out,” Stanford said. “The last thing they want is another influencer brand—who maybe even has a built-in advantage—coming and taking away some of this consumer base that they're trying to build right now.”

“Usually, you would have brothers teaming up on a beverage to bring extra firepower,” he continued. “Clearly, [Logan Paul] is having a significant amount of success, and when people see that, they want to replicate it. I guess that would hold true for brothers, as well.”