Krating Daeng is a sweetened, non-carbonated energy drink developed by Chaleo Yoovidhya. The drink is sold in Southeast Asia, East Asia, and 165 other countries. Chaleo took the name from the gaur a large wild bovine of Southeast Asia. The Krating Daeng logo underlies its branding, with two charging bulls representing power, red signifying perseverance, and the backdrop of the sun symbolising energy. Krating Daeng became the basis for the creation of the best selling energy drink in the world, Red Bull. When he died in 2012 at age 88, Chaleo was a multi-billionaire.
History
Krating Daeng was first devised in 1975. It contains water, cane sugar, caffeine, taurine, inositol and B-vitamins. It was introduced in Thailand in 1976 as a refreshment for rural Thai labourers. "At first it was not very popular...," says current CEO Saravoot Yoovidhya. "It was quite different from others in the market, and Chaleo focused first on upcountry markets rather than in the cities where other competitors concentrated." The working classimage was boosted by sponsorship of Thai boxingmatches, where the logo of two red bulls charging each other was often on display. Krating Daeng has lost its leadership position in its home market of Thailand to M-150 and is now third in the country's energy drinks market, down to possibly only 7 percent market share in 2014.
Relation to Red Bull
The Thai product is a different company from the global brand Red Bull as formulated by Dietrich Mateschitz, an Austrian entrepreneur. Mateschitz was the international marketing director for Blendax, a Germantoothpaste company, when he visited Thailand in 1982 and discovered that Krating Daeng helped to cure his jet lag. He worked in partnership with Chaleo's T.C. Pharmaceuticals to adapt the formula and composition to Western tastes. Red Bull was launched in 1987. The two companies are often mistaken for each other, but they are separate entities focusing on different target markets. Today, Red Bull GmbH is 51 percent controlled by the Yoovidhya family, who own the trademark for the drink in Europe and the United States of America.
Health effects
By volume, Krating Daeng has 33% less caffeine than Red Bull; Krating Daeng contains 32mg caffeine per 150ml bottle, while Red Bull contains 80mg per 250ml bottle. Krating Daeng also contains taurine, glucose and B vitamins.
