Red Bull: History, Ingredients & Nutrition

Snack History Nostalgia Rating: ⭐⭐☆☆☆

If you have ever enjoyed an energy drink or know someone who has, you are probably already familiar with Red Bull. Many people believe this energy drink has American origins, but this could not be further from the truth. Keep reading this article to learn more about the origins, their interesting marketing strategies, and some fun ideas on how to drink Red Bull in the future!

It was Originally a Thai Drink

When researching famous snacks and sweets, you would be surprised at the number of times you find that a business or business person either bought their product from someone else or that a product was an imitation of something already on the market.

The company that manufactures and sells Red Bull is not an American company, they are an Austrian company, and its name is Red Bull GmbH. Although they are an Austrian company, the drink actually has Thai connections.

Initially, this drink was developed by Chaleo Voovidhya, a Thai businessman, in 1962. This product was originally called Krating Daeng (which is the Thai translation for Red Bull). The original company that produced this drink was TC Pharmaceutical. This was also an example of imitation being the best form of flattery. This drink was based on a different energy drink, Lipovitan. That was an energy drink from Japan.

Over time, this drink became more and more popular in Europe. It was discovered that drinking it would assist in curing jet lag. The drink continued to have more and more popularity throughout the 1970s and the 1980s. Then in 1982, Dietrich Mateschitz, the man who would go on to co-found and own 49% of Red Bull GmbH, sampled a can of Krating Daeng. In 1984, Red Bull GmbH was founded in Austria.

By 1992, Red Bull started to be introduced to foreign markets. In 1997, they entered American markets, beginning with California.

Now, here we are, 60 years after the creation of this Thai Energy drink, and it is more popular than ever.

Coca-Cola is Not The Only Drink That Contained Cocaine

Technically, cocaine was never an ingredient in Coca-Cola. However, as with most rumors, it was based on a partial truth. Coca-Cola once had coca leaf extract as part of their ingredient list. Although this is not cocaine, it is the same leaf that cocaine is derived from.

In the past, German authorities found trace amounts of cocaine in the Red Bull. They use decocainesd coca leaf extract and Kola nuts during production. Still, a minimal amount of cocaine was found in cans (only 0.13 micrograms per can). However, the product was deemed safe to drink, and eventually, Germany put it back on sale in the market. For this amount of cocaine to have any effect on you, you would have to consume around 12,000 liters of Red Bull.

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Ingredients

• Carbonated Water
• Sucrose, Glucose
• Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid, Sodium Bicarbonate, Magnesium Carbonate) Taurine (0.4%)
• Flavours, Colours (Caramel, Riboflavin)
• Caffeine (0.03%)
• Vitamins (Niacinamide, Pantothenic Acid, B6, B12).

Nutrition

Serving Size:	1 can	% Daily Value*
Amount Per Serving
Calories	210
Total Fat	0g	0%
Sodium	190mg	8%
Total Carbohydrates	54g	18%
Sugars	51g
Included Added Sugars	51g	102%
Protein	0g
Vitamin D	0mcg	0%
Calcium	30mg	2%
Iron	0mg	0%

• The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Pictures

Slogans

The most popular slogan for Red Bull is, “Red Bull Gives You Wings.” However, there have been many different catchy slogans over the years. Here is a collection of slogans:

• Red Bull Gives You Wings.
• Power On For Strength.
• Wings When You Need Them.
• No Red Bulls, No Wings.
• The Secret to Finish Early.
• Full of Wings, Free of Sugar (For their sugar-free variety).
• Minds, Like Pencils, Work Better When Sharp.
• Cherry Wings. (For their cherry-flavored version).
• No sugar, Same Energy.
• Change Your Energy.
• Vitalizes body and mind.
• Yipee, it’s Monday Morning.
• Wings for all taste.
• Tastes like coke, hits you like a bull. (For their cola version).
• When you run out of Adderall to crush up
• The only shot that gives you wings
• Which wings suit you?
• Two new ways to get wings
• When the skyway is your highway
• Make short work of the longest days
• To hit this morning’s target
• Charge your energy
• The art of the can
• Bigger pack bigger profits
• Wings for your summer
• Red Bull is freaking awesome
• Zero calories 100% wings
• Desk to dumbbells it takes bottles
• One can and you can
• Drink it till you wing it
• Red Bull gives you wings — topical wings
• Stimulate your morning after
• Running for the office
• Stay classic

Red Bull Marketing – Doing a Space Sky Dive

Over the years, companies have needed to find new and exciting ways to advertise their products. A critical part of advertising is staying on brand or using advertising to brand a company. Red Bull’s most popular and well know slogan is:

“Red Bull Gives You Wings”

When that is your slogan, marketers must be creative to develop new marketing tactics. This is especially true when many people have learned to ignore most forms of marketing, such as print ads and commercials. So what is a marketer to do?

If you want people to be interested in your brand in a fast-paced environment, you need to connect to them on some level. One level is entertainment.

Red Bull has Felix Baumgartner, an Austrian skydiver, do a space jump as part of an advertising campaign. This campaign went on for a while before this record space jump occurred. During this time, Red Bull had a genuine engagement with fans on social media, including 685,000 FaceBook fans and 245,000 Twitter followers.

The actual space jump was watched by 8 million people. This provided incredible exposure for the company. This astonishing marketing activity happened on October 14, 2012.

Besides exposure, the space jump actually broke a bunch of records such as:

• Top speed hit by a human without vehicular power – top speed 833.9 mph, breaking the sound barrier of 768 mph.
• Fastest freefall of 373 m/s (833.9 mph).

Red Bull Marketing – Tapping The Teen Market

Red Bull usually does not utilize traditional modes of advertising and marketing such as TV, Radio, and Print advertisements. Instead, they typically like big social campaigns that have the chance of going viral.

This is a very good choice by the company as their primary market is students in high school and college and 20-somethings. People in this demographic do not read print publications, few listen to the Radio, and they are more likely to stream or at least use a DVR if they watch any cable at all than to watch advertisements on video and television shows. However, viral marketing is something that will reach them.

Instead of traditional advertising, in the beginning, they worked on creating a youth-oriented underground by paying students and DJs to host parties to market the drink. It worked. It started selling out. The company understood something early on, viral advertising and non-obvious marketing as the way to penetrate the youth market.

Flavors and Products

Although the Original Red Bull may be the most well-known, there are actually 15 different flavors and products. Here are the products currently being offered:

• Red Bull
• Sugar-Free Red Bull
• Red Bull Zero
• Red Bull Cola
• Yellow Edition
• Orange Edition
• Blue Edition
• Green Edition
• Red Edition
• Silver Edition
• Sugar-Free Purple Edition
• Sugar-Free Lime Edition
• Grapefruit Twist Summer Edition
• Coconut Berry Summer Edition
• Zero Calorie Orange and Cherry

Red Bull Cocktail and Mocktails

Red Bull is not only for drinking straight out of the can. No. Red Bull is one of the most popular additions to cocktails and mocktails. Not everybody loves the taste straight from the can, so people have created many different drinks, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, to enjoy this drink.

Here are some examples of drinks to make with Red Bull:

• Red Bull and Vodka – 1 ounce of vodka and a can of Red Bull.
• Excitable – 1 ounce of each peach schnapps and vodka, 1 can of Red Bull, then top with cranberry juice and stir.
• Irish Trash Can – 1 can of red bull mixed with a half-ounce of each of the following: peach schnapps, vodka, light rum, gin, blue curacao, and triple sec.
• Hynotiq Green Lantern – 1 can of Red Bull, 2 ounces of Hypnotiq, and 1 ounce of Vodka.
• Blue Bull – 1 can of Red Bull, 2 ounces of sweet and sour mix, and 1 ounce each of the following: Blue Curacao, 151 Proof Rum, and Citrus Vodka.
• Vitamin C – 1 can of Red Bull and 2 ounces of Orange Vodka.
• Storm Mocktail – 1 can of Red Bull, 1.5 ounces of blackberry syrup, half of a lemon juiced, and lemon wedges for garnish.
• Passion Sour Mocktail – 1 can of Red Bull, 1.5 ounces of passion fruit syrup, ½ lime juiced, and lime wheels for garnish.
• Orange Cardamom Mojito Mocktail – 1 can of Red Bull, 2 – 4 Cardamom pods (to taste), 1.5 ounces of mojito or mint syrup, ½ orange juiced, and orange wedges for garnish.
• Tropical Sangria Mocktail – 1 can of Red Bull Yellow Edition, 2 – 3 slices of a fresh orange, 2 – 3 slices of a fresh apple, and 1 cinnamon stick.
• Ginger Up Mocktail – 1 can of Red Bull, 1.5 ounces of ginger syrup, ½ lime juiced, and lime wedges for garnish.

Commercials

FAQ