The pushback is about more than a pricey can. SOLLOS is testing whether a Trump-linked lifestyle brand can turn controversy, curiosity and premium pricing into repeat customers.
Barron Trump-backed beverage company SOLLOS launched its first product at $39 for a 12-pack, and the backlash over the drink’s high price has turned a Florida lifestyle brand into a political-consumer flashpoint. Barron Trump, 20, is described by Moneywise as a founder of SOLLOS and is listed as one of five directors in a Florida corporate filing for the South Florida-rooted company. The rollout drew attention in coverage and posts around June 10, June 14, and June 17, 2026, tying a Palm Beach name to a premium canned yerba mate.
The drink is Yerba Mate Pineapple + Coconut, a single-flavor launch built around the company’s Florida image. The debate now is not just whether a 12-pack is worth $39, but whether a famous political surname helps or hurts a consumer brand asking buyers to pay a premium.
A pricey can meets politics
At $39 for 12 cans, SOLLOS works out to $3.25 per can before any taxes or shipping that may apply. That price is central to the reaction because energy drinks are a crowded category where buyers can easily compare caffeine, flavor, branding and cost.
Moneywise reported that SOLLOS released the Yerba Mate Pineapple + Coconut beverage recently and that the price point quickly became a focus online. One widely cited post on X put it bluntly: “$39 for a 12 pack? A fool and his money are soon parted.”
According to Moneywise, SheFinds also collected comments calling the price “insane” and “absurd,” including one comparison to a 12-pack of craft beer. The criticism lands because the product is not being introduced as a budget drink; it is being sold as a premium lifestyle item.
That creates a simple challenge for SOLLOS. A celebrity link can generate attention, but attention is not the same as consumer trust. A brand charging above mass-market prices has to persuade people that the taste, identity or experience is worth the gap.
Barron Trump’s reported role
The most important thing to separate is the branding shorthand from the documented role. Moneywise described Barron Trump as one of the founders of SOLLOS. The same report said he is one of five directors named in a corporation filing with the state of Florida.
SOLLOS says on its website that it was started by a group of close friends ages 19 to 23 who grew up living in South Florida. That description positions the company less as a traditional celebrity endorsement and more as a youth-founded lifestyle brand with one exceptionally famous name attached.
Still, “Barron Trump-backed” can mean different things to different readers. The available reporting identifies him as a founder and director, but it does not establish how much day-to-day control he has, how the company is financed, or how ownership is divided among the five directors.
That uncertainty matters because the online debate often treats SOLLOS as a Trump-family product first and a beverage second. For some potential buyers, that connection may be the appeal. For others, it may be the reason to avoid it.
The Florida lifestyle pitch
SOLLOS is leaning into place as much as personality. Its website says the brand is “built around the Florida lifestyle” and describes the beverage as offering “superior taste and plant-based energy to support an active, outdoor lifestyle.”
The flavor fits that pitch: pineapple and coconut, packaged as a sunny, coastal, South Florida-coded drink. The company also says it intentionally launched with only one flavor, arguing that most brands release several and hope consumers like one, while SOLLOS focused on making one flavor “flawless.”
That one-flavor strategy is risky. It gives the brand a clean identity and avoids the clutter of a scattered launch. It also means there is no backup option if customers dislike pineapple, coconut, yerba mate or the way those flavors come together.
The Palm Beach association adds another layer. Even if SOLLOS wants to present itself as a young South Florida brand, Barron Trump’s name inevitably brings national politics into a product category that usually competes on taste, energy and vibe.
Critics targeted more than price
The $39 price tag is the easiest complaint to understand, but it is not the only one. Moneywise noted that the brand and the Trump family had already faced online criticism before the launch.
The Daily Beast reported in April that SOLLOS drew criticism for using a South American product and name while the Trump administration pursued immigration policies affecting Latino communities. One commenter quoted in that report criticized a family tied to anti-Latino rhetoric for profiting from something rooted in Indigenous Guaraní, Paraguayan and South American culture.
That criticism is political and cultural, not just financial. It reflects a larger consumer reality: products attached to polarizing public figures often become symbols. People are not only buying, rejecting or reviewing a drink; they are signaling what they think about the family and the politics around it.
There is also a competing view. A product can have a controversial backstory and still be judged on taste by some consumers. SOLLOS appears aware of that tension and has not run away from it.
The taste reviews are mixed
Food and drink writer Christopher J. Yates reviewed the beverage for The Times of London and gave a more complicated reaction than the social media price complaints. He described a “creamy mouthfeel” and wrote that, on first taste, it felt like drinking from “a bottle of tanning oil.”
After a second sip, Yates said he found it “OK,” calling it sweet but “not cloyingly so” and comparing the creaminess to a non-alcoholic piña colada. That is not a rave, but it is also not a dismissal.
The caffeine content may be more straightforward. The drink has 120 milligrams of caffeine per can, which Yates noted is about the same caffeine ratio as Red Bull. Moneywise, citing Daily Beast reporting, noted that a 12-pack of Red Bull on Amazon costs about $17 to $25, making SOLLOS notably more expensive by that comparison.
For a premium beverage, that puts pressure on the non-caffeine parts of the value proposition. If the energy effect is familiar, the brand has to justify the higher price through flavor, packaging, scarcity, identity or loyalty.
SOLLOS is selling a lifestyle
The company is not only selling cans. Moneywise reported that the SOLLOS website also lists branded merchandise, including a French terry pullover for $95, terrycloth shorts for $40, a beach tote bag for $80 and a baseball cap for $30.
That merchandise lineup makes the strategy clearer. SOLLOS is presenting itself as a lifestyle label with a drink at the center, not just another energy beverage trying to win shelf space.
- Core product: Yerba Mate Pineapple + Coconut in a $39 12-pack.
- Brand setting: South Florida, outdoor activity and beach-coded design.
- Public hook: Barron Trump’s reported founder and director connection.
- Consumer friction: premium pricing, politics and cultural criticism.
The company has also shown it understands the controversy. Moneywise reported that a SOLLOS LinkedIn post said, “Not much is bipartisan these days. Enjoying SOLLOS is.” The post was paired with promotional images and quotes from coverage, including a Slate line from Heather Schwedel saying she thought Barron and his cofounders “made a pretty good drink.”
The launch is a brand test
SOLLOS now has the kind of attention new beverage companies usually have to buy. The harder part is converting curiosity into repeat purchases once the novelty of the Trump connection fades.
The company is also entering a family-adjacent market. Moneywise noted that Kai Trump, President Donald Trump’s granddaughter, has launched an energy drink flavor through a collaboration with Accelerator Active Energy drinks. Her signature flavor is Blue Raz Slush.
That suggests the Trump orbit is not treating energy drinks as a random side project. These products sit at the intersection of youth culture, influencer marketing, wellness-coded caffeine and political celebrity.
What remains unclear is whether SOLLOS is selling strongly, whether criticism is helping more than hurting, and how broad its audience can be beyond people interested in the Trump name. The first wave of attention was easy to measure in comments. The real measure will be whether consumers come back for a second 12-pack at $39.
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