Thai Red Bull Gives You More Than Just Wings
Krating Daeng Red Bull, Thailand’s Best Export
Talking about Thai Red Bull, or Krating Daeng, might sound a bit odd to foreign ears. Think of Red Bull and you probably think of adrenaline sports, Formula 1 racing cars and downing Jägerbombs in clubs. What you might not know is that Red Bull was actually originally from Thailand!
Yes, it’s now a global brand with sponsorship contracts and kick that keeps you partying all night, but Red Bull’s roots are firmly in the fields of rural Thailand. The iconic Red Bull logos of the two bulls butting heads started in Thailand too, modelled on the buffalo that still roam across the north today.
So how the hell did it go from a drink to keep the farmers going to the worldwide phenomenon that it is today? And why does it taste so goddamn good?!
The Ultimate Thai Energy Drink
We have a Thai-Chinese businessman called Chaleo Yoovidhya to thank for our modern-day caffeine kick. Having set up a small pharmaceuticals company in Bangkok in the 1950s, he had the brainwave of mixing a Japanese imported vitamin drink with some local syrups and herbs. The result was a tasty, addictive drink that went down a storm with the locals.
The main customer base back then was laborers, farmers and workers in the countryside who needed a helping hand to keep going through the long hot days. They wanted a drink that gives you stamina. That probably sounds familiar to anyone who’s downed a Red Bull in a club to keep drinking all night!
Thai Red Bull Going Global
The story would probably have ended there if it wasn’t for an Austrian entrepreneur getting jet lag in the 1980s, and grabbing a bottle of Krating Daeng Red Bull as a pick-me-up. He loved it, of course, and took the recipe back to Austria for an image makeover. The rest is history as the drink became a hit and is now sold in 171 countries worldwide!
Krating Daeng is a part of Thai Culture
Go into any 7-11 or gas station and you’ll see the small glass Krating Daeng bottles. They look like medicine from a distance, and they kind of are! The ingredients are a mix of caffeine, taurine, vitamins, sucrose and glucose- all the good things when it comes to energy.
Drink one of these before you head out in the evening and you’ll start your night with a buzz. Drink one of these the next morning on a hangover and it will bring you back to life!
Krating Daeng is stronger than the US and European versions as well, so you get even more bang for your buck. Not that you need a buck of course, because a bottle will only set you back 10 baht (about 30 cents) and if you buy several at once it’s even cheaper. More money left over to buy the shots to mix it with!
Drink a bottle of Thai history!
Downing a bottle or two of Krating Daeng before a long scooter ride round the Mae Hong Son loop or an all-night session on a Khao San Road pub crawl is a rite of passage, and you’ll be in good company with the millions of Thais who drink it every day. Krating Daeng Red Bull is a part of Thai history so drinking it is basically a cultural activity. Grab one and feel the buzz!
