Red Bull is as relevant as the 1950's station wagon.
People will soon realize that it is the simplest and cheapest so called
energy drink, and there are better products out there or coming soon.

People who buy RB are ignorant of its contents.

Who said consumers of mass market energy drinks have to
be knowledgeable of the contents of the energy drinks they are
consuming?

We have all heard that before.

Red bull is a brand. At this point the active ingredient could be urine and it would still sell.

Coke and Pepsi are selling tap water for Christ sake, and it’s some of the best selling water in the country at the same price as soda.

It’s branding not whether or not it works. Red bulls days are not numbered, red bull spends its days counting the numbers of units sold going up and up.

Well said and so true!

IMO, sugar free RB is still the best tasting diet energy on the market.

Lol... didn't you also prefer spinach over ice cream ?

Drinking sugar free energy drinks is like wearing a raincoat in the shower.

In Europe you can’t call sugar free red bull an energy drink. If it has no sugar it’s not an energy drink in Europe.

Taking a page out of the history book, I think that Red Bull is kind of in a similar position that Coke was in from the late 1930's through the 1950s. Coke believed their product was the best, their strategy was one product, one size - available as many places as possible. Pepsi and others found the holes in that by offering other sizes and better values ( and for some, better taste) that chipped away at Coke's market share. Finally in the mid 50's Coke saw their share starting to decrease enough that they swallowed their pride and started to offer different sizes. Then the advent of multi-slot vending machines led all soda companies to develop their own lines of alternate flavors, to help keep their bottlers from filling up the other slots on their machines with other companies' flavors. Coke survived, of course, because their was more to their success than just product pricing and size. Their marketing, history, and for many, a good product were huge advantages.

Now Red Bull, they have a bit of history, being "first" - but honestly, the product is not that good. Some people have acquired the taste and will be loyal, but the competitors' superior products, in terms of pricing,size and taste, are certainly impacting and will continue to do so. Red Bull offering different sizes was a first step. Customer loyalty will ensure they won't die - at least, I don't expect it to, just like Coke wasn't going to die either.
-Andy

While I agree with the analogy between Coke and Red Bull - you do leave out one valuable point. Though Coke's overall share decreased (similar to Red Bull's now) the overall category grew exponentially with competition bringing more consumers to it. My point being - Red Bull's 40% share of the category today is significantly more valuable than the 65% share they had 4 years ago.

CR

I did not mean that RB will vanish, but that the days of being #1 is coming to an end.
The other day I saw MadCroc at the 99c store, "two for $1".
Madcroc is made in austria with almost the same formula as RB.
RB is profitable because they are selling the cheapest ED at premium prices.

There will be a tipping point when people will realize RB is not worth the $2 price tag, sales will crash land and this will force them to cut the price.
That day will be the tipping point, and its not far off.