How Red Bull Makes Money Selling Nothing

On a crisp autumn day in 2012, the world held its breath. Felix Baumgartner, a daredevil with nerves of steel, stood at the edge of space. With a deep breath, he took one small step that would become a giant leap for mankind.

Millions watched as Baumgartner plummeted towards Earth, breaking the sound barrier and shattering world records. This wasn't a NASA mission or a SpaceX test flight. This was Red Bull.

But this space jump was just the tip of the iceberg. Red Bull has made a name for itself with wild stunts that push the limits of what's possible. Picture motorcycles soaring over ten-story buildings, snowboarders carving down the slopes of rumbling volcanoes, and a slew of sports teams wearing the Red Bull logo with pride.

How did this little energy drink pull off such a marketing miracle? It's hard to believe that Red Bull started as a no-name tonic in a far-off land. Now it's not just a drink – it's a lifestyle. It's shaken up the beverage world and written the book on how to sell a product in the 21st century.

So what's the secret behind Red Bull's rise to the top? How did they turn a simple caffeine boost into a global phenomenon? Let's dive into the story of how Red Bull spread its wings and took flight.

Chaleo Yoovidhya sold medicine in Bangkok. Until in 1956, he saved enough to start his own small business, TC Pharmaceutical Industries. At first, he just sold regular medicines like antibiotics.

Around that time, Japanese companies started making energy drinks. These became popular in Thailand too. After running his business for about 10 years, Chaleo decided to make his own energy drink.

He noticed the other drinks were expensive and was made for the rich. But Chaleo knew that the average worker needed it more. He thought about construction workers and farmers who work hard all day.

So Chaleo made a drink with caffeine, vitamins, and taurine and named it Krating Deng, which means "red gaur" in Thai. A gaur is a big, strong wild water buffalo which was deemed to represent strength.

At first, Krating Deng didn't sell well. Japanese and Korean drinks were more popular. But Chaleo was smart. He sold his drink in small towns, not big cities like Bangkok.

He gave free drinks to truck drivers who needed help staying awake. Word spread, and soon many workers liked the drink. With the money he made, Chaleo started sponsoring Thai boxing matches.

Chaleo had built a brand. His drink became a symbol for hard workers. By 1980, Krating Deng was big all over Thailand.

Until Chaleo would meet an Austrian guy who would turn Krating Deng into a huge global business worth billions.

Dietrich Maderschitz traveled a lot for work. On one tiring trip to Thailand, he felt awful. He asked a store for help and found Chaleo's drink, Krating Deng. It worked great! Dietrich loved it, but you could only get it in Thailand.

Later, Dietrich read that energy drinks were super popular in Asia. So he finds Chaleo, proposing that they work together.

Dietrich's plan was to bring Chaleo's drink to Europe. They each put in $500,000 to start the business. Dietrich would run things, while Chaleo focused on the drink. They called the new company Red Bull.

In 1987, they started Red Bull in Austria and made some changes. They added carbonation to the drink and changed the aesthetics of the can. They also made it pricey to seem fancy. Their slogan was "Red Bull gives you wings."

They started small with just a few workers and not much money for ads.

Instead of big TV commercials, Dietrich got creative. He found popular college kids and gave them free Red Bull. These students also drove Mini Coopers with big Red Bull cans on top.

Red Bull also gave free coolers and even left empty cans around events allowing people to see the logo and wanting to try it.

These tricks worked. Red Bull sold a million cans in the first year. They lost money because they gave away so much, but Dietrich knew this would pay off later. He was right. Sales doubled the next year and kept growing.

Red Bull got so big in Germany that Dietrich then started sponsoring extreme sports like cliff diving. This made Red Bull seem cool and exciting.

By 1997, Red Bull came to the US. The energy drink market was huge by then, with lots of competition.

But Red Bull had a different approach. They weren't just selling a drink, they were selling a story and a lifestyle.

Which led Red Bull to become a crazy content marketing machine that would produce outrages stunts. For instance the live video of Felix Baumgartner free falling from space broke records and got over 120 million views on YouTube. After that, Red Bull's sales skyrockted.

Red Bull was strategic about these big events. People talk about them for a long time, which helped the company in the long run. But here's the thing: Red Bull hardly ever shows their drink during these stunts. When Felix Baumgartner landed, he didn't even drink a Red Bull! All you saw was a logo.

This is Red Bull's secret. They don't push their drink in your face. Instead, they make cool stuff happen and let people connect Red Bull with awesome things. In a world full of ads, this sneaky approach works well. It doesn't feel like an ad; it just feels like something amazing that Red Bull made happen.

The truth is, Red Bull isn't really about drinks. It's all about marketing. They've made their drink seem fancy and cool, which is funny because it started as a cheap drink for workers in Thailand. Now it's one of the priciest energy drinks, but the recipe is pretty much the same. That's the power of great marketing.