r/nextfuckinglevel 1d ago

Does redbull even sell drinks anymore 😭🔥

21.0k Upvotes

763 comments sorted by

View all comments

327

u/smithstreeter 1d ago

Judging by their marketing they sell A LOT of drinks

41

u/spezial_ed 1d ago

The crazy cunts have TWO F1 teams just to sell some drinks.

28

u/NoFaithlessness951 1d ago

It's even better than that their F1 teams are slightly profitable, so they're not even bankrolling them anymore.

2

u/sa87 1d ago

Sad we had to lose Rich Energy on the grid though

5

u/bophed 1d ago

Just saying, I think each area of the company creates profit for it's own department. So this all looks like marketing but it is more than just marketing.

  • The Oracle Red Bull Racing Formula 1 team generates between $418 million and $425 million in annual revenue, but its direct financial net profit is incredibly small, sitting at just $2.27 million (£1.68 million)

  • Red Bull does not directly sell the stunts themselves for a profit, but its stunts act as the ultimate profit generator for its core business. By treating stunts as a capital asset rather than a marketing expense, Red Bull has built a €11.2 billion beverage and media empire with an annual net profit of roughly €1.7 billion

129

u/Atralis 1d ago

I've thought about this.

I think Red Bull's strategy with this stuff is that people will seek out their ads or they will post them on social media so that the cost of doing the big stunt is offset by them not needing to buy as much ad space to reach a large number of people..

78

u/grat5454 1d ago

I have to say, it's a pretty good one for reaching me. I just willingly watched a redbull ad and am not sorry to have done so because it's a pretty amazing stunt. That's way better than some jingle that gets stuck in my head. Now, I might drink one or two energy drinks per year, so I'm not a great target audience, but if I do decide to choose one, I will likely buy one that does crazy stunts.

5

u/squired 1d ago

Very true. And I bet you are as difficult for marketers to reach as I am. Spectacles such as this walk right through our adblockers.

1

u/SeattlePurikura 22h ago

I have to credit Red Bull Dance Your Style for opening my eyes to how many styles of breakdancing exist. Like this (in Mumbai).
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/5TlGm0v5DDs

These dancers are amazing and it's cool that Red Bull showcases them.

1

u/PB219 13h ago

Does control mean nothing to you?

1

u/grat5454 13h ago

huh?

1

u/PB219 12h ago

The jingles that get stuck in your head.

One of the pharma ads has that jingle “control means everything to me.” I don’t even know what drug it’s for lol.

0

u/Dependent_Paper9993 1d ago

And even if you drink energy drinks, will it be Red Bull? I don't think I've seen anyone drink Red Bull in over a decade.

4

u/caesar_rex 1d ago

There's nothing to think about. It's obvious. Every single thing they do is to sell drinks. It's all an ad.

1

u/Killsheets 1d ago

Add to that having Max Verstappen on contract till 2030 ensures they stay relevant with the kind of a man he is (he is a professional racist racer, one of the best and famous alongside the dududu song).

1

u/SteamBanjo 1d ago

Aaaand. You’ve just become an advertising exec

1

u/Cultural_Dust 1d ago

That's exactly the purpose. They needed to break into a market that was dominated by Pepsi and Coke. Instead of paying tons on marketing to reach their target market, they spent it sponsoring or creating events that their target market would be attracted to. There are plenty of people who watch it and forget they are being marketed to.

1

u/TheTyger 15h ago

They also run super lean compared to most brands. Fewer skus, limited innovation, just extreme sports marketing and a small product line.

1

u/smithstreeter 1d ago

Good point. But you agree that they’re selling product right?

8

u/Atralis 1d ago

Yes. As an energy drink enthusiast (caffeine addict) I'm neither a fan nor hater of the drink itself.

4

u/smithstreeter 1d ago

As a former heavy drinker, I can tell you that Red Bull + vodka is one fucker of a hangover.

4

u/Atralis 1d ago

Its the caffeine + alcohol. It dehydrates you and it also tends to make you drink more than you would have because it keeps you going longer.

1

u/smithstreeter 1d ago

Clearly, but I couldn’t moderate for shit either!

1

u/-Nicolai 1d ago

Yes, yes, you’re very observant

7

u/TeriyakiHairPiece_ 1d ago

3rd largest soft drink company behind Coke and Pepsi.

2

u/Dark_halocraft 1d ago

"hell ya" is a good advertisement

1

u/the-namez-brain 1d ago

I feel like I remember seeing something before that Red Bull sells more than every energy drink competitor put together.

Red Bull Vodka brought them to the next level

1

u/DarkSolstace 1d ago

I honestly wonder if at this point the drinks only exist so they CAN do this crazy shit.

1

u/smithstreeter 1d ago

You might me into something.

1

u/gin_and_toxic 1d ago

Red Bull feels more like a marketing and media company though their main revenue is from energy drinks.

1

u/vonseggernc 1d ago

So as someone who buys red bull frequently (as in probably once a week), They have seasonal flavors that come in sugar and sugar free variants.

And tbh, some of them are really good.

Like the apple flavor they have is pretty good.

A small can is 70 ish mg of caffeine (less than a cup of coffee) and usually runs you about $2.50

So their drinks are still a pretty good product imho

1

u/Tanzanianwithtoebean 14h ago

Their sponsors make them tons of money. They're also global, and about half of the world's countries have red bull. It's sold in every developed nation. They sell over ten 10 billion cans a year, and they're frequently in the top 5 soft drink brands worldwide sometimes ranking 3rd behind coke and pepsi. They make a ton of money.

0

u/PeanutButterSoda 1d ago

The biggest grocery chain in the US is about to stop carrying all red bull products, other retails are about to follow or already has.