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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