---
title: "Red Bull's Trademark Battle in 2018: China's Functional Beverage Market Data Has Changed"
description: "The functional beverage market is growing rapidly, exceeding 40 billion yuan in 2017. From 2011 to 2017, the compound annual growth rate of retail sales reached 17.1%, and by the end of 2017, retail sales hit 41.52 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.57%. However, Red Bull's trademark dispute has led to a decline in its market share from 63% to 58%."
author: "前瞻产业研究院"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
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published: "2018-08-31"
language: "en"
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original_source: "https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/X1ZFcruNL54AJEcrsOA4sA"
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# Red Bull's Trademark Battle in 2018: China's Functional Beverage Market Data Has Changed

> The functional beverage market is growing rapidly, exceeding 40 billion yuan in 2017. From 2011 to 2017, the compound annual growth rate of retail sales reached 17.1%, and by the end of 2017, retail sales hit 41.52 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.57%. However, Red Bull's trademark dispute has led to a decline in its market share from 63% to 58%.

**Functional beverage market is developing rapidly, exceeding 40 billion in 2017.**
In recent years, with the awakening of national health awareness and the increase in sports consumption expenditure, China's functional beverage market has developed rapidly. Data shows that from 2011 to 2017, the compound annual growth rate of retail sales of functional beverages in China reached 17.1%, and the compound annual growth rate of retail volume reached 12.35%. By the end of 2017, retail sales of functional beverages in China had exceeded 40 billion yuan, reaching 41.52 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.57%; retail volume increased to 12.783 billion liters, a year-on-year increase of 8.68%.
**Red Bull suffers from trademark dispute, market share shrinks by 5%**
The good development of the market has attracted many manufacturers to enter the industry, and competition is fierce. However, in China's functional beverage market, Red Bull's leading position has remained unshakable, with a pattern of "one superpower and multiple strong players." As of April 2018, China Red Bull's cumulative production exceeded 8 million tons, cumulative sales reached 145.3 billion yuan, and total taxes paid amounted to 21 billion yuan. It is reported that Wahaha Nutri-Express, the veteran in China's beverage industry, has sold a cumulative 50.4 billion bottles since its launch in 2005, with output value exceeding 120 billion yuan. From this data, China Red Bull has surpassed Wahaha and become a hot single product in China's beverage industry.
However, at the end of 2016, Red Bull was embroiled in a trademark ownership dispute with Thailand's TCP Group. Currently, there has been no new progress in the trademark renewal case. This lawsuit has undoubtedly affected Red Bull's sales and market share performance. According to data, starting from 2016, Red Bull's sales have been declining. In 2016, sales were 21 billion yuan, down 9% from 2015. In 2017, Red Bull's sales fell another 7%, dropping below 20 billion yuan. It is expected that Red Bull's sales will continue to decline in 2018.
Furthermore, in terms of market share, according to Nielsen data, **Red Bull's share in the functional beverage market fell from 63% to 58%.**
Despite this, from the current market share perspective, Red Bull still holds a considerable advantage. In 2017, Red Bull's market share was 58%, with other brands dividing the remaining 42%: Lehu accounted for 11%, Dongsheng Special Drink 9%, Heika 4%, Zhongwo 9%, and Carabao, Monster, and Qili each 1%.
From the monthly data on China's functional beverage market share, Red Bull, Lehu, and Dongsheng occupy more than 90% of the market share, but all have been declining since 2018, indicating a turbulent market.
**Dongsheng and Lehu are eyeing the market, waiting for opportunities**
As the two biggest competitors of China Red Bull, Dongsheng Special Drink and Lehu are striving to catch up with Red Bull. It is understood that in 2017, Dongsheng Special Drink's sales exceeded 4 billion yuan. As a brand that started in Dongguan, Guangdong, Dongsheng Special Drink has shown good development momentum in the South China market in recent years. In 2016, sales exceeded 3 billion yuan. Although it is still less than a fraction of Red Bull's annual sales, its market potential should not be underestimated.
On the other hand, in 2017, Dali strengthened the sales of Lehu's 250ml aluminum can products. According to the company's annual report, Lehu's sales in 2017 reached 2.675 billion yuan, an increase of 31.39%. As one of Dali Group's key products, the group carried out a series of promotions and publicity for the Lehu brand in 2017, continuously enhancing product awareness and strengthening the construction of Lehu's omni-channel outlets. Now, these measures have achieved good results.
**Increasing number of industry entrants: competition is becoming white-hot**
According to Nielsen data, due to the brand dispute, Red Bull's team and market have been shaken, and it is expected to release at least 7 billion yuan in sales space. Facing such a big cake, various "heroes" are rubbing their hands, intending to "compete for the Central Plains."
In June 2017, C'estbon entered the functional beverage market, launching the "Moli" amino acid sports drink, and its sales are currently in line with the company's expectations. In 2017, the hottest rich second generation in China, Wang Sicong, entered with "Ailuo," with impressive sales and reviews. In September 2017, XS officially went on sale, selling 10 million cans in just 29 hours, creating a new marketing miracle in China's sports nutrition beverage market. In addition, there are Nongfu Spring's Jianjiao, Uni-President's Gourgen, Celsius, Carabao, COFCO's Bigbang, Wahaha's Suran, and Jianlibao, among other new and old brands, each establishing their own camps and occupying their own territories.
The above data and analysis are from the Prospective Industry Research Institute's "2017-2022 China Functional Beverage Industry Market Outlook and Investment Planning Analysis Report."
Source: Prospective Industry Research Institute APP
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