How Austrian Dietrich Mateschitz turned an energy drink into an empire
Dietrich Mateschitz was just another businessman visiting Thailand in the early 1980s, trying to expand the market for his company, the consumer goods firm Blendax, as its marketing director. So it hardly seemed meaningful when the tired traveler popped open a small bottle of a syrupy concoction popular with Thailand’s truck drivers and blue-collar workers. The drink, called Krating Daeng (Thai for red bull), gave Mateschitz not only the spark of energy he was looking for but a spark of inspiration. And where some might have seen opportunity, the entrepreneurial Austrian saw something more: the seeds of an empire.
Dietrich Mateschitz was born in Austria in 1944 to parents of Croatian ancestry. A late bloomer professionally, it took him a decade to finish his degree before he began working for a number of consumer product corporations in sales and marketing positions. It was during one of these stints that Mateschitz found himself in Thailand. He had previously noticed the existing market for energy drinks, which were popular in a few Asian countries. Soon Mateschitz was reaching out to Chaleo Yoovidhya, the Thai businessman who owned Krating Daeng (one of the most popular products in Thailand), and the two formed a partnership that would become the basis for the eventual Red Bull corporation. The two men each took 49 percent of the new company, with Yoovidhya’s son Chalerm holding the remaining 2 percent.
This story is from the November/December 2018 edition of Maxim.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the November/December 2018 edition of Maxim.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Enzo on the Silver Screen
Michael Mann’s new biopic of Enzo Ferrari starring Adam Driver is set to make the legend burn even brighter
Some Like it HОТ
We piloted Ferrari's fantastie new open-topped grand tourer through the craggy hills of Sardinia
THE LEGEND OF ENZO
DURING HIS LIFETIME FERRARI FORGED THE ENTIRE PANTHEON OF MOTORSPORTS
THIS SIDE of PARADISE
A landmark new exhibition of Ellen von Unwerth’s work is suitably playful and provocative
FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA IN BELIZE 10-MS
The famed director of The Godfather and Apocalypse Now tells us why the Central American country has captured one of the world's greatest imaginations,
WEAPONS of WICK
Meet master engraver Melissa McMinn, who created Keanu Reeves’ dueling pistols for the hit franchise
SUDDENLY This SUMMER
Model, influencer and actress Summer Soderstrom is the blonde bombshell we're keeping our eye on
VIVA LAS VEGAS
We wade into the spectacle that was the reborn Las Vegas Grand Prix
DRINKING La DOLCE VITA
From pioneering distilling methods to the massive success of Martini Racing, the story of the most iconic name in aperitifs
FIVE-STAR STYLE
With an impressive roster of ultra-high-net-worth clients, i design powerhouse Rigby Rigby is making waves Bei on the Riviera and beyond