Red Bull GmbH is the Austrian company behind Red Bull Energy Drink, a product it says created the energy drink category when it went on sale in Austria in 1987. The company also owns sports teams, events and media outlets that it uses to market the drink.
The business matters because of its scale and its growth. In 2025 Red Bull sold 13.969 billion cans in 178 countries, up 10.2 percent on the year before, and group turnover passed 12 billion euros for the first time.
Overview and Founding
Red Bull was founded in 1984 by the Austrian marketing executive Dietrich Mateschitz and the Thai businessman Chaleo Yoovidhya. Mateschitz, then working for the toothpaste maker Blendax, had come across Krating Daeng, a Thai energy tonic, on a trip to Asia in 1982.
The two partners each invested 500,000 dollars, according to Formula1.com and Autosport. Mateschitz then spent close to three years, from 1984 to 1987, adapting the formula and building the brand positioning, the can design and the marketing concept, the company says.
The drink was launched in Austria on 1 April 1987. From there it spread country by country, and the brand was promoted largely through sport, events and athletes rather than through classic advertising alone. The Irish Times reports that the company was said to spend as much as 30 percent of its profits on publicity and marketing.
Key Milestones
- 1984: Red Bull GmbH is founded by Dietrich Mateschitz and Chaleo Yoovidhya.
- 1987: Red Bull Energy Drink goes on sale in Austria on 1 April.
- 1995: Red Bull starts its Formula One link as a sponsor of the Sauber team.
- 2004: Red Bull buys the Jaguar Formula One team from Ford and renames it Red Bull Racing.
- 2005: Red Bull buys the Minardi team, which races as Toro Rosso.
- 2010: Sebastian Vettel wins the first of four drivers’ titles in a row for Red Bull Racing.
- 2012: Red Bull sponsors Felix Baumgartner’s jump from more than 38 kilometres above New Mexico.
- 2022: A three-member management board takes over the running of the group.
- 2025: Cans sold reach 13.969 billion and turnover 12.196 billion euros.
What It Does
The core business is making and selling Red Bull Energy Drink, which the company sells in 178 countries. The drink is the base of a group that also runs sports, events and media businesses.
Motor racing is the most visible part. Red Bull owns two Formula One teams: Red Bull Racing, built from the former Jaguar team, and a second team that began as Toro Rosso and was renamed AlphaTauri in 2021. Red Bull Racing drivers won four titles with Sebastian Vettel from 2010 to 2013 and titles with Max Verstappen in 2021 and 2022. The team races at events such as the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Jeddah.
The group also owns the Red Bull Ring circuit in Austria, rebuilt from the former Österreichring, and Hangar-7 at Salzburg Airport, which houses a collection of historic aircraft. Red Bull Powertrains, approved by Mateschitz as one of his last major decisions, is the group’s own Formula One engine project, and the company also runs a young driver programme in Formula 2 and Formula 3.
In football, Red Bull has invested in RB Leipzig in Germany and the New York Red Bulls in the United States, The Irish Times reports. It also backs athletes in surfing, motocross, mountain biking, cliff diving, windsurfing and air racing, and runs television channels and magazines mainly about sport.
In Numbers
- Cans sold, 2025: 13.969 billion, up 10.2 percent on 2024.
- Group turnover, 2025: 12.196 billion euros (2024: 11.227 billion euros).
- Employees, end of 2025: 21,924 (2024: 19,973).
- Countries where the drink is sold, 2025: 178.
Leadership
Since November 2022 Red Bull has had no single chief executive. Under the structure announced then, Franz Watzlawick is CEO, Beverage Business; Alexander Kirchmayr is Chief Financial Officer; and Oliver Mintzlaff is CEO, Corporate Projects and Investments, with responsibility for the Formula One interests.
