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Company

Red Bull GmbH

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The conical glass and slate buildings of the Red Bull headquarters at Fuschl am See mirrored in a still turquoise lake, with the sun breaking over the forested ridge behind and red maples in the foreground.
The main cone of the Red Bull headquarters seen head on, the bronze bull herd charging out over the water and the whole building doubled in the mirror-still lake.
Close view of the bronze bulls breaking out through the glass facade of the Red Bull headquarters and wading into the green water, their reflections directly beneath them.
The bronze bull herd strung out along the glass frontage at the waterline of the Red Bull headquarters lake, lit from behind by low autumn sun with dark spruce forest above.
Sunlight bursts over the ridge and flares across the frame above the main cone of the Red Bull headquarters, with russet ferns and Japanese maples filling the foreground.

Snapshot

Headquarters: Fuschl am See, 15 minutes east of Salzburg. Founded 1984 by Dietrich Mateschitz and Chaleo Yoovidhya. Austrian launch: 1987. Annual sales: over 11 billion cans. Revenue: over EUR 10 billion. Salzburg presence: Hangar 7, Red Bull Arena, FC Red Bull Salzburg.

The Story

One of the most influential companies ever built in the Salzburg region, and one that most visitors drive past without realising it. The headquarters of Red Bull GmbH sit on the shore of the Fuschlsee in Fuschl am See, 15 minutes east of the city. The view from the office looks out over the same lake that sits in classic postcard Austria. The address has not changed since Dietrich Mateschitz founded the company in 1984.

The origin is well documented: Mateschitz, an Austrian marketing director, tasted a non-carbonated Thai energy drink called Krating Daeng on a business trip in 1982 and noticed it cured his jet lag. He approached the drink’s creator, Chaleo Yoovidhya, each invested USD 500,000, and they formed a joint venture with ownership split 49-49-2. The formula was adapted for Western palates, the syrupy glass-bottle format became a slim carbonated can, and on 1 April 1987 Red Bull went on sale in Austria. Within a year, over a million cans had sold. The company expanded through Europe in the early 1990s and into the United States in 1997, where it captured 75% of the energy drink market in the first year.

Today Red Bull sells in 175 countries, employs thousands from its Fuschl base, and generates revenue exceeding EUR 10 billion annually. The Salzburg footprint is specific: Hangar 7 at Salzburg Airport houses a museum of vintage aircraft and Formula One cars alongside Restaurant Ikarus, one of the region’s most recognised fine-dining addresses. The Red Bull Arena in Wals-Siezenheim is the home of FC Red Bull Salzburg. Red Bull’s sponsorship of extreme sports, music festivals, and cultural events has given the Salzburg region a global-audience visibility that operates on a completely different scale from its classical music reputation.

Mateschitz died in October 2022 at his estate in Fuschl. His son Mark Mateschitz inherited the Austrian share of the company.

Locations

Where it is connected

These places and destinations are authored on this organization entity.
  • The steel and glass ceiling lattice of the Hangar-7 dome seen from inside in Salzburg.museum

    Hangar-7

    Red Bull built a glass-and-steel hangar at Salzburg Airport in 2003 to display its aircraft collection and contemporary art, and added one of Austria's more ambitious restaurants in the same space. The building by architect Volkmar Burgstaller is a curved glass shell that makes the vintage aircraft and Formula 1 cars visible from the outside at night.

    Salzburgpaid
  • stadium

    Red Bull Arena

    Built 2003

    Home stadium of FC Red Bull Salzburg, one of Austria's most successful football clubs. Capacity around 30,000. Also hosts large-scale concerts and events. Built in 2003, part of Dietrich Mateschitz's transformation of Salzburg's sporting identity.

    Wals-Siezenheimpaid