Red Bull Case Study
Red Bull Report – Sales Forecasting
2010
Tiago LK, Jovan A., Tamas F.
BBCi_Principles of Sales
4/20/2010
RED BULL REPORT
Red Bull operates within the energy drink sector of the soft drink market and has been the leading market share holder in this area for the past several years. It was founded by Dietrich Mateschitz, an Austrian who studied world trade and commerce in Vienna. In 1982, Mateschitz came back to Austria from a visit to Thailand with some samples of an energy drink called Krating Daeng (which is Thai for “Red Bull”). Two years later he founded the company Red Bull GmbH as a 49 percent partner with Chaleo Yoovidhya, founder of Krating Daeng drink in Thailand. Red Bull is a company and a brand at the same time; they do not stretch their brand out (for example, they do not sell energy bars) instead they decided to stick to the drinks sector of the ‘functional’ foods market only. The four products they currently sell are Red Bull Energy Drink, Red Bull Sugarfree, Red Bull Simply Cola, and Red Bull Energy Shots. This report will cover several topics regarding sales force and sales forecasting strategies already implemented by the organization, or strategies they might want to consider. However, before this paper can explain the strategies clearly, a good understanding of Red Bull’s current channels is important. Red Bull gained popularity throughout the years for various reasons: some say the way they marketed was exceptionally important to their success and others believe they became a leader in the market (with about 70% market share by 2003) not only because they were the first to endeavor selling a soft drink with no intention to sell a good taste (unlike Coca-Cola, or Gatorade), but also because as Markus Pichler – who was in charge for engineering Red Bull’s introduction to the USA – claims “The basic thing is that the product works. It delivers benefits that are relevant to consumers. We provide them with energy. We are relevant for
2010
Tiago LK, Jovan A., Tamas F.
BBCi_Principles of Sales
4/20/2010
RED BULL REPORT
Red Bull operates within the energy drink sector of the soft drink market and has been the leading market share holder in this area for the past several years. It was founded by Dietrich Mateschitz, an Austrian who studied world trade and commerce in Vienna. In 1982, Mateschitz came back to Austria from a visit to Thailand with some samples of an energy drink called Krating Daeng (which is Thai for “Red Bull”). Two years later he founded the company Red Bull GmbH as a 49 percent partner with Chaleo Yoovidhya, founder of Krating Daeng drink in Thailand. Red Bull is a company and a brand at the same time; they do not stretch their brand out (for example, they do not sell energy bars) instead they decided to stick to the drinks sector of the ‘functional’ foods market only. The four products they currently sell are Red Bull Energy Drink, Red Bull Sugarfree, Red Bull Simply Cola, and Red Bull Energy Shots. This report will cover several topics regarding sales force and sales forecasting strategies already implemented by the organization, or strategies they might want to consider. However, before this paper can explain the strategies clearly, a good understanding of Red Bull’s current channels is important. Red Bull gained popularity throughout the years for various reasons: some say the way they marketed was exceptionally important to their success and others believe they became a leader in the market (with about 70% market share by 2003) not only because they were the first to endeavor selling a soft drink with no intention to sell a good taste (unlike Coca-Cola, or Gatorade), but also because as Markus Pichler – who was in charge for engineering Red Bull’s introduction to the USA – claims “The basic thing is that the product works. It delivers benefits that are relevant to consumers. We provide them with energy. We are relevant for