--- title: "One Month After AnNaiJi's Launch: The Red Bull You Knew Is Back" description: "Many 'heavy Red Bull dependents' who have tried AnNaiJi told New Distribution reporters, 'This is the original taste of Red Bull.' With the AnNaiJi JD flagship store now online, the battle between AnNaiJi and Hua Bin Red Bull has escalated both online and offline." author: "澄韵" publisher: "New Distribution" email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com" telephone: "+8615854817671" published: "2019-07-26" language: "en" canonical: "https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/one-month-after-annaiji-s-launch-the-red-bull-you-knew-is-back-ff2829d6/" markdown: "https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/one-month-after-annaiji-s-launch-the-red-bull-you-knew-is-back-ff2829d6.md" original_source: "https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/cSNKuqvJ2AxFGNucHIr3Zw" translation: "https://xinjignxiao.com/zh/articles/%E5%AE%89%E5%A5%88%E5%90%89%E4%B8%8A%E5%B8%821%E4%B8%AA%E6%9C%88-%E9%82%A3%E4%B8%AA%E4%BD%A0%E7%86%9F%E6%82%89%E7%9A%84%E7%BA%A2%E7%89%9B%E5%9B%9E%E6%9D%A5%E4%BA%86-ff2829d6.md" attribution: "New Distribution — https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/one-month-after-annaiji-s-launch-the-red-bull-you-knew-is-back-ff2829d6/" usage_policy: "https://xinjignxiao.com/ai-policy.txt" --- # One Month After AnNaiJi's Launch: The Red Bull You Knew Is Back > Many 'heavy Red Bull dependents' who have tried AnNaiJi told New Distribution reporters, 'This is the original taste of Red Bull.' With the AnNaiJi JD flagship store now online, the battle between AnNaiJi and Hua Bin Red Bull has escalated both online and offline. ********After tasting AnNaiJi******, many 'heavy Red Bull dependents' told New Distribution reporters: 'This is the original taste of Red Bull.' **AnNaiJi JD Flagship Store Launches, Full-Scale Offline and Online Battle Begins** Earlier, some said that AnNaiJi, which contains American ginseng, tasted overly sweet, had a strong artificial flavor, and left a slight bitterness at the end. Before trying AnNaiJi, I was skeptical. But after tasting it, I didn't detect those issues (I'm not a hardcore Red Bull enthusiast). Except for a few friends who have been drinking Red Bull for over 10 years and noticed subtle differences, most others found no difference at all. The consensus on taste is that ordinary people can hardly tell the difference, and AnNaiJi might even be preferred because, aside from taste, its formula includes American ginseng and more taurine, which can better help with alertness and fatigue relief. In fact, Red Bull was originally developed to help fatigued people recover their energy. But many 'heavy dependents' who claim to rely on Red Bull to 'stay alive' told New Distribution that since Hua Bin changed the formula, they can no longer taste the original flavor, and the energizing effect has been greatly reduced. Now, AnNaiJi brings back the feeling Red Bull originally gave them. With the launch of Red Bull AnNaiJi, marketing activities have been rolling out in various regions. I learned from the official RedBull Weibo account that AnNaiJi has conducted marketing activities in Gansu, Qinghai, Guangdong, Nanjing, Tianjin, and other places. According to distributor feedback, the channels are basically covered, but compared to the old Red Bull, Hua Bin has been deeply entrenched for years, so channel penetration is still not as strong. Nevertheless, a distributor in Hunan told reporters: 'Our company is actively responding, cleaning up the market, and fighting counterfeits. We are conducting consumer promotion activities. Overall, we are very confident about growing this. The next step is to deepen channel penetration, which should just be a matter of time.' A Qinghai distributor also admitted that of the 9,000 cases that arrived on June 22, only a few hundred remain, with the rest sold out. He also said that not only Qinghai but several northwestern provinces have seen AnNaiJi products out of stock. Distributors in Guangdong also reported that due to early distribution and ground promotions, AnNaiJi has been well received in Guangzhou and other areas. Recently, the Red Bull AnNaiJi JD flagship store was officially launched, completing the initial layout of online channels and starting a full-scale battle with Hua Bin Red Bull both online and offline. **Red Bull Business Dominates, Legal Battles Drag On** The market-level fight between the two sides is just beginning, but their legal entanglements are even more uncompromising. Recently, news that the Zhejiang High Court dismissed a lawsuit filed by Tencel Medicine against Hua Bin's Red Bull production and sales companies has drawn public attention. It is reported that the dismissed case was filed by Thai Tencel in 2016 against Red Bull Vitamin Beverage (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. and its distributors, which were outside the Red Bull Vitamin Beverage system, for producing and selling Red Bull products on a large scale without ever obtaining a trademark license from Tencel. In August 2016, Thai Tencel filed lawsuits against Jiangsu Red Bull, Beijing Red Bull, Hangzhou Red Bull, Guangdong Red Bull, and other companies for infringement of registered trademark rights and unfair competition, demanding they cease the infringing and unfair competition acts. **Tencel issued a statement on July 15, reaffirming its ownership of the Red Bull trademark and accusing Yan Bin-controlled Red Bull Vitamin Beverage Co., Ltd. of fabricating non-existent ownership disputes to maliciously obstruct Tencel's lawsuits against Jiangsu Red Bull and others for trademark infringement and unfair competition.** In addition, during the trial of the above cases, Red Bull Vitamin Beverage Co., Ltd., actually controlled by Yan Bin, filed multiple lawsuits against Tencel, many of which were voluntarily withdrawn just before public hearings. I noticed that three lawsuits filed by Red Bull Vitamin Beverage Co., Ltd. were all voluntarily withdrawn just before public hearings. A trademark ownership dispute filed at the Beijing Dongcheng District People's Court in September 2017 was withdrawn on August 14, 2018; a franchise contract dispute filed in September 2018 at the same court, attempting to block the launch of Red Bull AnNaiJi, was withdrawn again on February 19, 2019. In October 2016, Tencel Medicine's trademark license agreement with Red Bull Vitamin Beverage Co., Ltd. expired and was not renewed. Red Bull Vitamin Beverage Co., Ltd., together with Guangdong Red Bull, filed a trademark license contract dispute against Thai Tencel, demanding continued trademark authorization and supply of raw materials such as flavors, lemon yellow, and carmine. However, this case was withdrawn again before the public hearing in June 2019. It was before this lawsuit that Thai Tencel stopped supplying flavors and other raw materials to Hua Bin Red Bull, which is why industry insiders later noticed that Red Bull's taste had become weaker. Thai Tencel stated that the repeated filing and withdrawal of lawsuits was a deliberate tactic by Hua Bin to delay and obstruct the normal trial of Tencel's earlier lawsuits. In response, I consulted relevant materials to verify whether the suspicion that Hua Bin's repeated lawsuits and withdrawals were meant to delay time holds up. From a legal perspective, does a new lawsuit filed by Hua Bin hinder the normal trial of Tencel's earlier cases? I found that lawyer Yang Rongkuan from the All China Lawyers Association had explained this: In intellectual property lawsuits, if you claim someone infringes, you must first prove your ownership, then prove the other party's infringement, and only then can you claim damages. Ownership, infringement, and damages constitute the three key elements in such cases, and they are interlinked. I checked publicly available court documents and found that Yan Bin's side, on one hand, filed lawsuits to deny the trademark ownership relationship recognized by the other party, and on the other hand, filed counterclaims, that is, lawsuits to confirm that they are not infringing. 'The common goal of these two steps is confrontational litigation. Trademark ownership is the foundation. If the ownership is shaken, the subsequent trial may have problems. **Therefore, regardless of whether the reasons they raise are valid, the court must review them. After going through this process, the entire litigation procedure is prolonged.** In addition, raising jurisdictional objections is also a common method to delay litigation,' Yang Rongkuan said. In China, Red Bull is a super single product with sales exceeding 23 billion yuan, known as the most profitable beverage product in China, with a brand value exceeding 50 billion yuan. According to Hua Bin's recent performance, Red Bull business accounts for over 92% of its performance, showing its high dependence on Red Bull. In recent years, due to the expiration of the license, Hua Bin has shifted its business focus and promotional resources from Red Bull to 'War Horse,' even using methods like buying War Horse and getting Red Bull free to support it. But War Horse has not sold well, and none of Hua Bin's other products can compare to the value Red Bull brings. For Hua Bin, how to protect its own interests is their biggest concern. 'After all, every extra day Hua Bin sells, they earn hundreds of millions more! It's all silver and gold,' an unnamed distributor told me. **Business Term Expires, Using 'Horse' to Support 'Bull' as a Backup** According to records on the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System, September 29, 2018, was the day when Red Bull Vitamin Beverage Co., Ltd.'s business term expired. On the evening of May 13, the official public account of Red Bull Vitamin Beverage Co., Ltd. began to migrate, with the account subject changed to Beijing Red Bull Beverage Sales Co., Ltd. Red Bull Vitamin Beverage Co., Ltd. is a joint venture controlled by the Thai side, while Beijing Red Bull Sales Co., Ltd. is a wholly-owned company of Yan Bin. This move is speculated by industry insiders as a way to 'transfer intangible assets,' and if necessary, the Red Bull brand may be gradually abandoned by Hua Bin. It also indicates that the extension application of Red Bull Vitamin Beverage Co., Ltd. was not approved by the industry and commerce department. On the other hand, in addition to Red Bull's health food 'blue hat' label, in June this year, Hua Bin's War Horse also obtained health food qualification. However, the applicant for War Horse is Beijing Langchen Beverage Co., Ltd., whose legal representative is Yan Danhua, daughter of Yan Bin, chairman of Hua Bin Group, and has no relation to Red Bull Vitamin Beverage Co., Ltd. **This series of actions is also seen as a backup plan by Hua Bin Group to deal with the Red Bull brand crisis.** **How the Future Develops, Time Will Tell** At present, the two bulls have been in a head-on battle but are still hovering in their safe zones, without any particularly aggressive tactics or measures. But the arrow has been shot and cannot be taken back; the possibility of sitting down and reconciling is extremely slim. Hua Bin has insisted on holding a legal document about a 50-year cooperation commitment between the two sides, which could extend the operating period of China Red Bull. However, so far, it has not publicly disclosed this agreement as it previously claimed. A few media outlets have reported obtaining this agreement, and it is said that the four companies in the agreement correspond one-to-one with the shareholders and historical shareholders of Red Bull Vitamin Beverage Co., Ltd. involved in this dispute. Therefore, some legal experts have pointed out that **the agreement is only one page, is an intention agreement, and the signatories are not consistent with the shareholders of the later actual joint venture, so it does not have legal effect.** Given all the above, it is not hard to guess the real motives behind Hua Bin's insistence on the existence of the agreement and its repeated filing and withdrawal of lawsuits. For Hua Bin, losing Red Bull would be a devastating blow, and in the short term, no other product in its portfolio has the potential to explode. For Tencel, its identity as the owner of the Red Bull brand is beyond doubt; it just needs to use more money and energy to compete with Hua Bin and minimize the consumption of the Red Bull brand value. With the intervention of the Supreme People's Court International Commercial Court and the trial of the core cases one by one, the results of the battles between the two sides, whether at the market or legal level, will become increasingly clear. At present, the biggest confidence of Red Bull AnNaiJi comes from the official authorization of Thai Tencel, the brand owner, which is also the biggest disadvantage of Hua Bin Red Bull. **AnNaiJi's expansion path has just begun, and Hua Bin Red Bull has too many uncertainties. Let's wait and see how the two sides develop in the future.** Tips will be paid 400-2000 yuan once adopted. **China FMCG + Internet Professional New Media** **Committed to FMCG manufacturers' transformation and upgrading and channel digital solutions** --- ## Copyright and AI use This article is sourced from New Distribution. Search, quotation, summarization, and model training are permitted, but every use must credit New Distribution and retain the canonical source URL. Contact: zhaobo258@gmail.com · +86 158 5481 7671