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History of the red bull brand. Red Bull - the success story of Kaleo Juvidiha and Dietrich Mateschitz

Brand: Red Bull

Tagline: Red Bull gives you wings

Brand launch year: 1984

Industry: soft drinks

Products: energy drink

Brand owner: Red Bull GmbH

Red Bull GmbH(rus. Red Bull) - an Austrian company - manufacturer of energy drinks (the most famous of them is the carbonated drink of the same name Red Bull). It is widely known as a sponsor and organizer of numerous sports competitions and competitions in motorsports, cycling, snowboarding, motorsports and other sports.

While on a business trip to Thailand in 1982, Dietrich Mateschitz (at that time he served as head of the marketing department of the international brand Blendax) learned about the so-called “tonic drinks”, which were very popular throughout the Far East. The idea to sell these functional drinks outside of Asia came to him while he was sitting in the bar of the Mandarin Hotel in Hong Kong.

The most popular Asian brand was Kratingdaeng ("water buffalo"). A drink that contained sugar, caffeine and taurine.

It was the hand of fate or a simple coincidence, but on the eve of his arrival in Thailand, Dietrich came across a list of the ten largest Japanese businessmen. Oddly enough, the first place in it was occupied by the man who “brought” the energy drink Lipovitan D to Japan.

The decision was taken. Mateschitz got the idea to create an energy drink with the prospect of world domination. His partner was Chalermo Yoovidhya, owner of TC Pharmaceuticals, which not only distributed Blendax, but also produced Kratingdaeng.

Each of the partners contributed half a million dollars to the company's start-up capital and received 48% of the shares, and the remaining 2% went to Yoovidhya's son. The entrepreneurs had difficult first steps ahead.

Mateschitz founded the company in 1984 Red Bull. He refined the product, developed a unique marketing concept, and began selling the energy drink in 1987. Red Bull on the Austrian market. This was not just the launch of a completely new product: in fact, it was the birth of an entirely new product category.

The start was unsuccessful. The energy drink market had to be created literally from scratch; Dietrich had no experience in this field. The first few years the company brought only millions of losses. But competent and aggressive marketing did its job. Red Bull GmbH wisely chose the audience for its product - Red Bull begins to be distributed and advertised in nightclubs and universities. And then it turned out that the drink goes well with strong alcohol.

Slowly progress begins Red Bull as an ideal sports drink. I think everyone knows about air competitions in so-called aerobatics, when pilots (and these can only be some of the best) overcome air routes with obstacles for a time. These races have been held since 2003 in various countries. Very expensive, but extremely spectacular and effective advertising.

In 2005, the Jaguar Formula 1 team was acquired, which is now known as Red Bull. She performs quite well. Enough to again serve as good advertising.

To assets Red Bull There are also football and hockey clubs of the same name. The company is increasingly introducing itself into big-time sports. She can afford it - Red Bull GmbH's income is already in the billions, and Dietrich Mateschitz became the first (and so far only) Austrian billionaire in history.

So, first Europe was conquered, then both Americas, and then the reborn drink returned to its historical homeland in Taiwan and the rest of Asia.

Today Red Bull represented in more than 160 countries around the world.

Some 30 billion cans of Red Bull have been consumed since 1987, including more than 4.2 billion in 2010. The company's 7,758 employees worldwide share responsibility for the success of the world's No. 1 energy drink (up from 6,900 in 2009). ). Red Bull's headquarters are located in Fuschl am See, near Salzburg, Austria.

Inspired by functional drinks from the Far East, Dietrich Mateschitz founded Red Bull in the mid-1980s. He developed not only a new product, but also a unique marketing concept, and launched Red Bull Energy Drink in Austria on April 1, 1987. A completely new product category was created - energy drinks.

Company: facts

BASE

1984

For three years, from 1984 to 1987, Dietrich Mateschitz worked on Red Bull's formula, brand positioning, packaging and marketing concept.

FIRST START

April 1, 1987

On April 1, 1987, Red Bull Energy Drink was launched in Austria. Thus, a completely new product category was created - energy drinks.

EMPLOYEES

12,736

At the end of 2019, Red Bull employed 12,736 people in 171 countries.

CANS SOLD IN 2019

7.5 billion

In 2019, 7.5 billion cans of Red Bull were sold worldwide, up 10.4% from a very successful 2018. The company's turnover increased by 9.5% - from 5.541 to 6.067 billion euros.

In terms of sales, revenue, productivity and operating profit, these indicators again reached record levels in the entire history of the company. The main reasons for the success are excellent sales in India (+37%), Brazil (+30%), Africa (+25%), Germany (+15), Austria (+12%), Eastern Europe (+12%) and the USA (+9%) combined with very effective cost management and continued investment in brand promotion.

Our growth and investment plans for fiscal 2020 are also very ambitious. Ensuring positive development at the moment, as is customary at Red Bull, is carried out through the company's operational activities.

Today, May 20, Dietrich Mateschitz, the creator and owner of Red Bull GmbH, the manufacturer of Red Bull energy drinks, celebrates his birthday. The story of his life and success is truly surprising and inspiring!

“The market does not exist until you create it yourself.”

Dietrich was born on May 20, 1944 in Austrian Styria in the family of a school teacher and a prisoner of war. He was never a good student; it took him 10 years to study at the University of Commerce in Vienna. But after graduation, 28-year-old Mateschitz, no matter what, decided to become an excellent marketing specialist. Very soon, Dietrich became director of international marketing for the German Blendax, a manufacturer of toothpaste, creams and shampoos. After spending years traveling and selling toothpaste around the world, Mateschitz was captivated by the idea of ​​starting her own business. And soon fate gave him such a chance.

At first, Dietrich was surprised to learn that the richest man in Japan was Mr. Taisho - not a banker, not a realtor, but the owner of Taisho Pharmaceuticals, which produces Lipovitan D, an energy drink of a type unknown in Europe. Then the Austrian noticed that the tireless rickshaws darting through the streets of Bangkok were constantly refueling with some strange liquid in brown bottles labeled “Kratingdaeng”. Mateschitz tried it, he liked it, and most importantly, he said goodbye to jetlag after long-haul flights forever. The last link in the happy chain was the news that Kratingdaeng is being released by TC Pharmaceuticals - the company of his good friend Chaleo Yoovidhya!

Mateschitz met with Chaleo in Thailand and invited him to start a company whose goal was to promote energy drinks around the world. Each partner will invest approximately half a million dollars in start-up capital. Shortly after this fateful meeting, optimistic 40-year-old Dietrich Mateschitz quit his job and applied for a license to sell the high-energy drink in Austria.

Mateschitz characterizes the reaction of his Austrian friends with the words: “ Nobody believed in the success of the venture.". Everyone thought that he had made a big mistake by investing his savings in a wind that would gradually fade away. Austrian officials did not allow the drink to be sold until it passed the necessary scientific tests. To obtain a sales license, Mateschitz had to knock on the thresholds of official institutions for three years. Expecting a positive answer, he asked his schoolmate Johannes Kastner to design a future can for the drink. He liked the bulls the most. Afterwards, a slogan was invented, which turned out to be fateful both for Dietrich and for his product - “Red Bull gives you wings.”

But we still had to find a company that would agree to produce a new product. Everywhere he was told that Red Bull had no chance. In the end, Mateschitz managed to reach out to the leading manufacturer of soft drinks in Austria, Roman Rauch, and soon sparkling silver cans flowed from the conveyors of this particular enterprise.

Red Bull's first two years of sales resulted in $1 million in losses. But three years later (in 1993), Red Bull was already making a profit, completely conquered Austria and spread to its neighbors - Hungary and Germany. Foggy Albion fell next. Then America... Now the drink is sold in 150 countries around the world, and is constantly expanding its borders.

“We don't deliver the product to consumers - we deliver consumers to the product.”

When promoting the drink, Dietrich used viral marketing (so-called word of mouth). How? First, the target audience is clearly defined, then, with the help of original techniques, a “rumor” about a fantastic product is intensively driven under the skull.

Mateschitz brilliantly saw Red Bull's audience in students, so the first blow was struck precisely on university campuses. To begin with, company employees began distributing boxes of Red Bull to students with the indispensable condition of subsequently holding a target party. The emphasis was on the “energy” benefits of the drink: “One cylinder and you’ll dance the night away!” At student parties, Red Bull went with a bang, because by a random and happy coincidence it was quickly discovered that “rickshaw broth” fits perfectly with vodka and “Jägermeister”! Thus, a new hyper-popular cocktail, Vodka Red Bull, was born, lovingly nicknamed “Reddy” or “Raging Bull” by the people.

“Going public” was just the beginning of Red Bull’s multi-level viral marketing tactics. According to Mateschitz, Red Bull had to turn from a drink into a lifestyle. Thus began Red Bull's unprecedented expansion into all areas of extreme sports. It is pointless to list the events sponsored by Red Bull today. It is enough to name only the most striking episodes. For example, a jump from an 11-kilometer height followed by a flight across the English Channel on a two-meter delta wing by the Austrian aerial acrobat Felix Baumgartner, which was broadcast around the world and allowed two hundred million television viewers to admire the “Red Bull” logo for 10 minutes. Or surfing an eight-meter (!) tidal wave in the Amazon Bay, breathtaking for a long 34 minutes! How not to remember the long jumps in the terrible Corinth Gorge.

Red Bull owns two Formula 1 teams, two professional football and one hockey clubs, and the best Philippine basketball team. The company sponsors five hundred of the world's most famous extreme athletes. Also, the International Stunt Support Fund, created by Mateschitz, provides invaluable financial assistance to athletes injured while performing risky stunts... As a result, we get a picture of the enormous cultural presence of Red Bull on our planet.

Philosophy of Dietrich Mateschitz

If a country doesn't embrace the drink, Mateschitz saves it for later. He focuses on what is potentially successful. He thinks positively and is optimistic, despite any financial difficulties, negative reviews, doubts of others and unfavorable external circumstances.

He loves full attention to his product, but at the same time carefully ensures that gossip does not spoil the reputation of the drink or cast doubt on its beneficial properties. In any circumstances and ups and downs, Mateschitz was always convinced of the success of his brainchild and never tired of believing that in the future Red Bull would become a permanent attribute of a modern person.

Dietrich Mateschitz believes that the main goal of business is not maximizing profits, but implementing the idea 100%. You need to work with creativity, passion and dedication, and most importantly, with faith in the idea.

No matter how strange it may sound, the most active consumers of the Red Bull drink find it difficult to answer what color it is. But this is not surprising, because they drink it only from cans that are not transparent; rarely does anyone pour it into transparent containers. If people are faced with such a question, they, without thinking for a long time, answer that the drink is red, but in fact its color is no different from light beer.

Red Bull GmbH is an Austrian company producing energy drinks. It is widely known as a sponsor and organizer of numerous sports competitions and competitions in motorsports, cycling, snowboarding, motorsports and other sports.

History of the company:
Inspired by the functional drinks of the Far East, Dietrich Mateschitz founded Red Bull in the mid-1980s. He created the Red Bull energy drink and developed Red Bull's unique marketing concept. On April 1, 1987, the Red Bull energy drink first went on sale in Dietrich's homeland - Austria. This was not just the beginning of sales of new products, it was the birth of a completely new category of drinks.

Red Bull is currently sold in 171 countries; To date, more than 68 billion cans of the drink have been sold. 6.302 billion cans of Red Bull were sold worldwide in 2017, up 4% on an already very successful 2016. Taking into account price fluctuations, the company's turnover increased by 4.2% - from 6.029 to 6.282 billion euros. In terms of sales, revenue, productivity and operating profit, these indicators reached record levels in the entire history of the company. The main reasons for the success are excellent sales in Turkey (+34%), India (+15%), the Netherlands (+15%), Northern Europe (+13%) and the UK (+13%) coupled with very effective cost management and constant investments in brand promotion.

In its expansion drive, Red Bull is targeting key markets in Western Europe and the US, increasing market share in the Far East, and further promoting the Red Bull Organics range following the apparent success of trial deliveries in Austria, while concentrating on continuing to mass market Red Bull drinks. Editions.

At the end of 2017, Red Bull employed 11,886 people in 171 countries. Red Bull's headquarters are located in Fuschl am See, near Salzburg, Austria.

But Red Bull is not only the production and sales of an energy drink, it is the world of sports, music, and art. The company is the owner of the Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso Formula 1 teams, the Red Bull New York and Red Bull Salzburg football clubs, the organizer of the Red Bull Air Race World Championship, the Red Bull BC One World Breakdance Championship, Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series, Red Bull Flugtag, Red Bull Crashed Ice World Championships, Red Bull Music Festival and many more.

Official site.

Relatively recently, consumers of the domestic soft drink market did not even know what Red Bull was. Today the share of this product on the Russian market exceeds 23%.

The Red Bull brand belongs to an Austrian company specializing in the production of non-alcoholic energy drinks. The most popular product of this brand is the Red Bull drink, in fact, named after the company itself.

What is Red Bull?

Today, the Red Bull brand is well known not only as a manufacturer of energy drinks, but also as a sponsor of sporting events, including competitions in cycling, motorsports, snowboarding, etc.

Historical information about Red Bull

Energy drinks came to Europe and the United States from East Asia. It was there that they became widely used in the second half of the 20th century. The first European to become interested in recipes for making energy drinks was Dietrich Mateschitz. In 1982, he went on a business trip to East Asia. During this trip, Dietrich managed to acquire a license for the then popular Thai trademark Krating Daeng (which means “red bull” in Russian), and also received licensing rights to produce products according to the recipe of the Japanese company Taisho Pharmaceuticals, specializing in the production of energy drinks.

Exactly two years later, Dietrich founded his own business producing non-alcoholic energy drinks. A company called Red Bull GmbH was registered in one of the small towns in Austria - Fuschl am See. Dietrich Mateschitz slightly modernized the recipes obtained for the production of drinks based on taurine and caffeine from Asian manufacturers. He reduced the amount of sugar and increased the amount of carbon dioxide in them. Already in 1987, three years after the founding of Red Bull GmbH, Red Bull appeared on the market. Dietrich spent a lot of money on promoting the product. Energy drink advertising has become the best lever of progress. Currently, this drink is consumed by citizens of more than a hundred countries around the world. Red Bull is officially recognized as one of the hottest new branded products of the last decade.

By the way, some countries have temporarily banned the sale of Red Bull in their territories. These include Denmark and France. Local experts considered the content of high doses of caffeine and taurine to be extremely dangerous to human health. Thus, in France, Red Bull was on the list of prohibited products from 2001 to 2008. Later, sales of the energy drink resumed. This happened thanks to a change in the recipe of the drink. Instead of tauric acid, they began to use arginine acid. This was the first time in the history of Red Bull GmbH that the formulation of a main product was changed due to a particular group of consumers.

Today, the turnover of the Red Bull brand reaches 630 million euros. This is much less than ten years ago. Then this figure exceeded 1.5 billion euros, in 2006 – 2.5 billion euros.

In 2004, record consumption of Red Bull drinks was recorded. At that moment, about 2 billion cans of this energy drink were sold in a year. That is, on average, up to 60 cans of Red Bull were consumed every second. Three years later, this figure tripled.

Red Bull appeared on the Russian market in 1998. Today it owns a quarter of the domestic market for energy soft drinks.

It is completely pointless to deny the fact that Red Bull GmbH is perhaps one of the most popular brand names in the world among other tonic drink manufacturers. And although the recipes used for the production of the energy drink called Red Bull have been known in Taiwan (the birthplace of Red Bull) for quite a long time, it is worth noting that it was Dietrich who was able to adapt the traditional Asian energy drink for the European consumer.

Initially, Red Bull conquered the European market, then it was introduced to the USA and, in the end, the updated tonic drink returned to its historical homeland, where it was able to displace traditional energy products. Red Bull later conquered the rest of East Asia.

The name of the drink, like its Asian ancestor, translated from English means “red bull”.

In addition to caffeine and taurine, and now arginine, Red Bull contains substances known in the food industry such as glucuronolactone (glucose), nicotinamide, inositol, and riboflamin. All these are derivatives of modern organic chemistry. Actually, they distinguish the Red Bull GmbH product from the Asian tonic drink - Krating Daeng.

After the founder of Krating Daeng, Dietrich Mateschitz, tried the local energy drink in East Asia, he noted one important fact: the product awakened new forces in him. His performance increased, the feeling of fatigue faded.

According to existing records, at first Mateschitz's business idea to create a new brand of energy drinks in Europe was not a very successful undertaking. This was explained by the complete absence of the market for non-alcoholic energy drinks in Europe. Over the course of 3 years, the entrepreneur had to create this niche. A large amount of money was spent on this idea. Almost all of it went to advertising. Here one cannot fail to note the main merit of Dietrich Mateschitz. He used an aggressive marketing strategy and identified the target audience correctly. Red Bull's first advertisements were carried out in nightclubs and universities. That is, active youth should have become potential consumers of Red Bull. It later turned out that Dietrich's energy drink goes well with strong alcohol, which was the beginning of its use in all kinds of cocktails offered by bars and restaurants.

Later, Red Bull began to be advertised as the best thirst quencher during sports competitions and competitions. The first sports discipline is aerobatics (overcoming an air route at speed with obstacles). By sponsoring such events, the company promotes its products among fans, thereby bringing the drink to the world stage.

In 2005, Red Bull GmbH invested in the purchase of the Jaguar Formula 1 team, which it later renamed Red Bull. The high results of this team serve as an excellent lever for promoting Red Bull drinks in markets around the world.

In addition to the Formula 1 team, Red Bull GmbH has its own hockey and football clubs. They all have the name Red Bull. This indicates the desire of the Austrian company Dietrich to introduce its brand into big-time sports. At first glance, such an event may seem like an expensive pleasure. But, firstly, it promises an increase in profits from sales of the Red Bull drink, and, secondly, Red Bull GmbH has the means to sponsor sports competitions. The income of the Austrian entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz today amounts to billions.

It is worth noting that today Dietrich is officially recognized as the first and only billionaire in Austria.

We have already mentioned the high effectiveness of a properly selected advertising campaign for promoting the Red Bull energy drink on the world market. So, it is worth noting that all Red Bull commercials are presented as a drawn cartoon, the plot of which is filled with humor and is always accompanied by the slogan “Red Bull inspires!” This allows you to convey to the consumer the main goal of advertising - why he should choose this particular tonic drink.

High-quality advertising promoting energy drinks is constantly hampered by endless debates about the dangers of this drink for the human body. The World Health Organization has recorded several deaths resulting from the abuse of Red Bull. Traditionally, this happens to people suffering from chronic heart disease. This led to restrictions on Red Bull sales in a number of European countries, as mentioned above.

In addition to health hazards, provocative commercials are often the reason for banning Red Bull. For example, in 2007, the Italian Pasteur went to court accusing Red Bull GmbH of blasphemy. The priest was outraged by an advertisement for an energy drink in which the wise men bring a package of Red Bull as a gift to the newborn Jesus...

Also on the way to the widespread distribution of energy drinks, the products of companies competing with Red Bull GmbH - Jaguar, Red Devil, Non-Stop, B-52, Tiger, Revo, etc. - act as obstacles.

It is interesting that the majority of people who consume the energy drink from Red Bull GmbH do not know at all what they are drinking. Few of them bothered to pour the contents of a can of Red Bull into a glass. If you ask what color this energy drink is, many will say red. This opinion comes solely from the name Red Bull. In fact, this drink is very similar in color to light beer.

Biography of Mateschitz Dietrich

The founder of Red Bull GmbH, entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz, is not the full owner of the Red Bull trademark. But he owns most of the sports clubs that proudly bear the name of Red Bull.

Dietrich was born on May 20, 1944. Now he is already 70, but Mateschitz still holds the status of Austria's first and only billionaire.

Dietrich owns 49% of the shares of Red Bull GmbH.

The future billionaire spent his childhood and youth in the small Austrian town of Styri. The boy grew up in a prosperous family. His parents made every effort to give their son a decent education. However, Mateschitz himself found it difficult to study. He studied at the University for almost ten years. He spent most of this time passing his final exams. Young Mateschitz was not at all interested in studies; he liked parties and fun activities. After he finally managed to get a diploma, Dietrich decided that it was time to come to his senses and began to make attempts to build a career. After getting a job as a sales agent at Unilever, Mateschitz actively promoted all kinds of detergents on the market. Success in this business gave the young and very enterprising Dietrich a new position - marketing director at Blendax (toothpaste production). After working in this position, Dietrich realized that he wanted to engage in his own entrepreneurial activity.

Dietrich’s plan to create a business for the production of an energy drink matured after reading an article about a Japanese figure who managed to create something similar. At the age of 40, Mateschitz began to realize his business idea, having previously visited a number of Asian countries and received a license to produce an energy drink according to their recipe. It took him about three years to promote the brand. Not many believed in the success of Dietrich’s undertakings.

The Red Bull cans were designed by Dietrich's school friend. For this purpose, the very name of the drink was used - Red Bull. There was a red bull on the can.

The slogan “Red Bull gives you wings” was developed by Dietrich himself. He was not mistaken in his choice. This phrase became fateful for the Austrian company Red Bull GmbH.

The budget of Red Bull GmbH was primarily made up of Dietrich's savings. Later, when its owner decided to take the product to the world stage, Kaleo Juvidiha invested in the company. Then the energy drink was offered to German and Hungarian consumers.

Today, speaking about Dietrich Mateschitz and Kaleo Juvidich, we can safely say that these entrepreneurs were able to create one of the most successful brands in the modern trade sphere. The Red Bull GmbH company specializes in the production of soft drinks, among which, of course, the most popular is the caffeine product - Red Bull.

The main consumer audience for this energy drink is considered to be not only nightlife and alcohol lovers, but also athletes and fans of sporting events.

On average, the profit from Red Bull sales annually is about 3 billion US dollars. Each co-owner of Red Bull GmbH, Dietrich Mateschitz and Kaleo Juvidich, owns 49% of the shares.