Whether you're the type that can't imagine
a trip to the grocery store or gas station
without grabbing an energy drink or if you
rely on them only for an occasional emergency
pick-me-up, you're familiar with the distinctive
taste of Red Bull.
It's gone from being the drink of choice for
truck drivers in Thailand to a global phenomenon,
and you might be surprised to find it wasn't
an instant, overnight success.
Let's talk about some of the stranger things
you might not know about the beverage that
kicked off the energy drink revolution.
Humble beginnings
Red Bull might be everywhere today, but it
didn't happen overnight.
The original Red Bull is called Krating Daeng
and Thai entrepreneur Chaleo Yoovidhya created
the energy-imbuing blend in 1976.
Timing is everything, and Chaleo's creation
came when Thailand's economy was facing a
nationwide industrialization.
Citizens needed something to help them make
the transition from rural lifestyle to urban
jobs, especially blue-collar ones.
Truck drivers and factory workers were among
the first targeted by the brand, and its popularity
skyrocketed.
He wasn't just selling a product, he was building
a brand and targeting people he understood.
Chaleo was born in 1923 to a family of Chinese
immigrants who had moved to Thailand, and
he counted things like duck farming among
his early occupations.
He founded his own company, TC Pharma, in
1956, and it was decades before he struck
gold with his energy-giving drink.
An unlikely benefactor
Krating Daeng wasn't an instant global success
by any means, and it wasn't until 1987 that
a completely unrelated business encounter
turned it into Red Bull and introduced it
to the world.
It started when Chaleo's company began importing
products from a German toothpaste company
called Blendax.
When Blendax's marketing director sampled
his licensee's energy drink, there was no
looking back.
After a bit of tweaking and translation that
took a whopping three years to get just right,
they started testing in the Austrian market
first.
Fifteen years later, the company was enjoying
$1.3 billion in annual sales.
That's no bull!
The logo of Red Bull is iconic, and you might
assume they're simply two red bulls, squaring
off for a fight.
They're actually animals called gaur, and
they've been endangered since 1986.
Native to South and Southeast Asia, the gaur
is the tallest of the world's wild cattle,
and they all have the horns you see on the
Red Bull logo, regardless of whether they're
male or female.
They're also among the largest living land
animals, and in areas where they commonly
come into conflict with people, they've actually
adapted to nocturnal schedules in an attempt
to avoid intruders.
Ironically, even though the gaur on the Red
Bull logo are shown charging each other, they're
almost never seen fighting.
Nationwide bans
Red Bull might be best known for its energy
drinks, but in 2009, the company made headlines
with another product.
Their Red Bull Cola was making waves — and
not in a good way — when testing in Germany
found samples that contained trace amounts
of cocaine.
News reports clarified that was due to the
process behind making cola, which comes from
the same coca plant that's notorious for its
illicit byproducts.
Extracts are included in a number of energy
drinks, but the manufacturing process usually
removes the cocaine component.
France has had a huge problem with Red Bull,
too.
In 2004, they raised concerns about the levels
of caffeine Red Bull contains, and banned
the import and sale of it completely.
It wasn't until 2008 that the original, unmodified
version of Red Bull was allowed to be imported
to and sold in France, because continued testing
couldn't find any evidence of the supposed
health risks cited under the ban.
None of that stopped Lithuania, though, who
banned the sale of Red Bull to minors in 2014.
Flavor debate
Everyone who's ever had a Red Bull knows exactly
what it tastes like.
It's an incredibly distinctive flavor, but
you probably can't name it.
No one has been able to really settle on just
what the flavor is, although ideas range from
things like liquid sweet tarts to cough syrup
with added sugar.
New flavors are a little more identifiable,
with the release of cranberry, blueberry,
kiwi, and even pink grapefruit flavors, depending
on what country you're in.
New flavors aside, the unique taste of the
original Red Bull has remained completely
unchanged.
There's a good reason for its consistency,
too.
Since they've never outsourced their flavors,
Chaleo's TC Pharma remains the only producer
of that magical, mysterious, Red Bull flavor.
"Done!'
Where's my wings?
In 2014, Red Bull found themselves the target
of an insane lawsuit, when they were sued
by a customer who felt betrayed by the advertisements
informing him that "Red Bull gives you wings".
After consuming huge quantities of Red Bull,
he was presumably shocked to find that he
had not actually grown wings.
He was also disappointed that he hadn't developed
any intellectual or athletic super powers,
so he decided to take them to court.
It seems crazy, right?
But he actually won, sort of.
The suit claimed there was absolutely no scientific
proof that a single Red Bull was any more
effective than a cup of coffee, even though
it was considerably more expensive when broken
down to its core caffeine content, and marketed
as being a superior product.
Red Bull settled out of court, and agreed
to pay every Red Bull consumer $10... for
a total cost of $13 million.
Commercials and claims aside, it did work
for at least one man!
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