I'm marketing Red Bull knock offs, custom film wrapped with the establishment's logo/layout. Minimum commitment is 160 cases. My main obstacle so far with the bar/club industry is Red Bull's exclusivity contracts. People love the idea of a custom label Red Bull clone but they seem to be afraid of losing their exclusivity "reward" from Red Bull.

I know there are some RB distributors/former distributors on this board. What exactly is this reward program? How far does it go? I spoke to owners of high end supper clubs in Montreal's fancy area. They move about 800 cases/year and they claim RB is giving them $50K in cash for a 2 year contract. Many owners are telling me I "can't afford" to give them what RB gives them.

Any insights on Red Bull's on premise program, how it works, how cash backs are determined/negotiated, etc, would be greatly appreciated.

That sounds like asking god "what makes women tick" or "what is the purpose in life"
Everyone is going to tell you something different as no 2 contracts are exactly the same.However I can assure you this, they are all the same that Red Bull WILL yank their money from the club etc. if not exclusive no matter what your can looks like.

the saint has a point. But the delivery, ouch.

No two contracts look alike huh? I have a photo copier that dares to say otherwise. Of course, thats illegal too...

My hands are tied.

I've heard of some clubs getting $0.33/can cash back. I can beat that easily. But other clubs getting $50K over 1600 cases, that's $31.25 cash back per case. That pretty much means the club is getting all their stock for free. That's crazy.

I'd love to see one of those contracts....How are the film-wrapped custom labels doing in the US, on premise?

Alot of the $50K is in the amount that the club would be charged if they went out and had the table tents etc. printed themselves that RB gives them. I doubt very seriously that redbull is handing over 50 grand in cash.

This is a pretty common topic on this board, you might do a search for it.

[ 06-11-2006, 11:01 AM: Message edited by: the saint ]

I've read the other topics. And yes some clubs do get promo material. But these places in question have absolutely no promo material whatsoever. The owner told me that "when Robert DeNiro comes to this restaurant, they want him to be seen drinking Red Bull"..

As you said, no 2 contracts are the same. I was just curious as to how the reps establish what to give who and how.

To echo the Saint... they all differ based on country, region, state, market, etc. Bottom line, if it's an important account to Red Bull, they'll fight tooth and nail to keep you out.

My question to you is, aside from price, what are you prepared to offer the club? Cheap product is one thing, but that alone is not going to increase my revenues - especially if it's a no name product that no one asks for and that I could get in trouble for serving when someone orders a Red Bull. Bar owners want attention, creative ideas, promotions, bar incentives. They want a partner that will help generate traffic. Most bigs bars get that and more from Red Bull, so what do you have to offer, other than a cheap knock off (your own words by the way)?

CR

Coco Rico: It's not a no name product. It's a custom label can. If your club is called Coco Rico, your can will say Coco Rico and the design will match your club's logo/concept. People ask for Red Bull, all you have to say is "we have our own energy drink". Customers are impressed because they can't tell the contents from Red Bull, however the can provides visibility for YOUR establishment rather than some cheap AND overpriced brand (Red Bull) that can be bought at Wal-Mart, Costco, and every corner store.

So the question I ask you is this: Would you rather pay $32/Case and promote an Austrian imported overhyped brand, or pay $28/Case and serve your customers the flavor/ingredients they expect while promoting your own club??

Not to offend you but if I were a bar/club owner I would want to serve what the customers asked for, regardless of the cost to me. The customer is gonna pay the same for the drink whatever the energy drink is that is poured into it. The 15 cents a can more profit doesn't matter much when the bankruptcy auction is being held because people quit coming in.

I agree with saint. As I have said before,club/bar customers in general are "curb appeal/snob drinkers".Selling private house brands/off labeled energy drinks at a discount does not come into play for these drinkers. IMO

Red Bull has become bigger than it's parts.