---
title: "The 'Red Bull' Trademark Dispute You See Is Just the Tip of the Iceberg"
description: "Thai-Chinese businessman Yan Bin, if starting from his Beijing Huabin International Building, could reach the Thai Embassy in Beijing in about 2 kilometers. The Xu family, also from Thailand, pioneered the energy drink 'Red Bull'. Through Yan Bin, Red Bull has been selling well in China for over 20 years. Due to trademark licensing disputes, the intertwined interests, constraints, and symbiosis between Xu Xiongxiong from the Xu family and Yan Bin, known as the 'Father of Chinese Red Bull', are now in the spotlight."
author: "吴林静 赵天宇"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
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published: "2017-07-19"
language: "en"
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# The 'Red Bull' Trademark Dispute You See Is Just the Tip of the Iceberg

> Thai-Chinese businessman Yan Bin, if starting from his Beijing Huabin International Building, could reach the Thai Embassy in Beijing in about 2 kilometers. The Xu family, also from Thailand, pioneered the energy drink 'Red Bull'. Through Yan Bin, Red Bull has been selling well in China for over 20 years. Due to trademark licensing disputes, the intertwined interests, constraints, and symbiosis between Xu Xiongxiong from the Xu family and Yan Bin, known as the 'Father of Chinese Red Bull', are now in the spotlight.

Thai-Chinese businessman Yan Bin, if starting from his own Beijing Huabin International Building, could cross Jianguo Outer Street and reach the Thai Embassy in Beijing in about 2 kilometers.
The Xu family, also from Thailand, pioneered the energy drink 'Red Bull'.
Through Yan Bin, Red Bull has been selling well in China for over 20 years. Due to trademark licensing disputes, the two Thais at the center of the storm—Xu Xiongxiong from the Xu family and Yan Bin, known as the 'Father of Chinese Red Bull'—have had their intertwined, constrained, and symbiotic interests pushed to the forefront.
Red Bull Vitamin Beverage Co., Ltd. (hereinafter 'Red Bull Vitamin') is one of the companies involved in the trademark licensing dispute and is the core of the intertwined interests. This company is generally considered the main entity of Chinese Red Bull, controlled by the Xu family's Red Bull Vitamin Beverage (Thailand) Co., Ltd., but with Yan Bin as chairman.
For over two decades, competition between the two sides has been ubiquitous, and friction has been inevitable. At the negotiating table, we can clearly see the chips of both sides: the Xu family may join forces with another Red Bull operator, Austrian Red Bull, to enter the Chinese market. Most importantly, the Xu family owns the 'Red Bull' trademark, which is indisputable.
Most of Red Bull's Chinese market was cultivated by Yan Bin's company. Currently, Yan Bin holds 3 of the 5 production bases, giving him a numerical advantage; through years of market cultivation, Yan Bin's side undoubtedly controls Red Bull's distribution channels. The deep cooperation with beverage can manufacturer ORG Technology for over 20 years means strong upstream support.
Whose Red Bull will this can be in the future is still undecided.
I
Whose Chinese Red Bull?
Separation of equity control and management in the operating entity
The energy drink 'Red Bull', originated by the Thai Xu family, has been selling well in China for over 20 years through Yan Bin. Due to trademark licensing disputes, the two Thais at the center of the storm—Xu Xiongxiong from the Xu family and Thai-Chinese businessman Yan Bin, known as the 'Father of Chinese Red Bull'—have had their intertwined, constrained, and symbiotic interests pushed to the forefront.
In his early years, Xu Shubiao's father immigrated to Thailand from Hainan, China. In 1923, Xu Shubiao was born in Thailand, from a poor background, starting from scratch, and eventually founded TCP Group (Thailand) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter 'TCP Group'). According to TCP Group's official website, the company is the exclusive holder of the global Red Bull formula, and together with the Xu family, owns the global Red Bull trademark.
With just this trademark, the Xu family holds the key to global Red Bull production and sales.
Red Bull's journey from Thailand to the global market was keyed by Dietrich Mateschitz. Legend has it that after drinking a can of Red Bull, Mateschitz's feeling of 'dizziness and fatigue' disappeared, and he approached Xu Shubiao, hoping to get authorization to promote the drink worldwide. The two hit it off, and in 1984, Xu Shubiao and Mateschitz founded Red Bull GmbH (hereinafter 'Austrian Red Bull'), with the Xu family holding 51% of shares, a slight majority.
Austrian Red Bull conquered global markets outside Southeast Asia, but China was an exception. In 1995, Yan Bin officially introduced Red Bull to China through authorization from TCP Group. For a long time afterward, Austrian Red Bull was unable to enter this market, which accounts for one-fifth of the world's population.
The official website of 'Chinese Red Bull' shows its full company name as Red Bull Vitamin Beverage Co., Ltd. (abbreviated as Red Bull Vitamin), with business scope covering both production and sales. Established in December 1995, headquartered in Huairou, Beijing, with Yan Bin as chairman and major shareholder Red Bull Vitamin Beverage (Thailand) Co., Ltd. (abbreviated as Red Bull Thailand), which, according to Tianyancha, holds 88% of shares. Relationship Science shows that Red Bull Thailand is an asset of the Xu family, with Xu Xiongxiong serving as a director.
After Xu Shubiao's death in 2012, his children, including Xu Xiongxiong, inherited the estate. Xu Xiongxiong serves as CEO of TCP Group and also CEO of Red Bull Beverage Co., Ltd., the latter being the manufacturer and packager of Red Bull in Thailand. Additionally, he serves as a director of Red Bull Co., Ltd. These companies are all located in Thailand.
According to announcements from ORG Technology, the beverage can manufacturer, the parties involved in the Red Bull trademark licensing dispute are TCP Group and Red Bull Vitamin. That is, Red Bull Vitamin is one of the operating entities that received Red Bull trademark authorization, not other companies under Yan Bin's control.
On the other hand, from an equity perspective, Chinese Red Bull has never been fully controlled by Yan Bin and is a Sino-foreign joint venture. From the beginning, the key market entity established in China—Red Bull Vitamin—had its controlling shareholder and management representing the interests of both sides. Just as with the cooperation with Mateschitz, the Xu family has absolute control over Chinese Red Bull through equity, perhaps only handing over management to Yan Bin.
II
Thai Red Bull Strategizes
Holding One Side, Austrian Red Bull as a Sword
Red Bull's cross-century cooperation and growth in China has ultimately led to a 'century-long battle'. The dispute is far more complex than just the expiration of the licensing agreement. From the Thai Red Bull side alone, their chips at the negotiating table have been accumulating since the last century.
In July 1993, Xu Shubiao had already established Hainan Red Bull Beverage Co., Ltd. (abbreviated as Hainan Company) in Haikou, Hainan. Two years later, Red Bull Vitamin was formally established, and the Hainan Company still exists today.
On the official website of 'Red Bull China', Haikou, Hainan is listed as one of the five major production bases of Red Bull in China, but in terms of ownership, it has always been an asset of the Xu family, with Xu Xiongxiong personally holding 60% of shares and serving as chairman.
According to several civil rulings from HuiFa.com, at the end of last year, Global Market Holdings Co., Ltd., a shareholder of Red Bull Vitamin, sued Xu Xiongxiong, pointing out that he is both a shareholder and director of Red Bull Vitamin and also independently established the Hainan Company, creating a 'competitive relationship', and claiming he encroached on business interests that originally belonged to Red Bull Vitamin.
The confrontation of interests between the two sides has become increasingly clear over the years—for cooperative manufacturers, Chinese Red Bull and the Hainan Company are not even the same concept. ORG Technology, the beverage can manufacturer for Chinese Red Bull, pointed out in its prospectus that 'Chinese Red Bull' refers to the companies in Yixing, Jiangsu; Foshan, Guangdong; Xianning, Hubei; and Red Bull Vitamin in Huairou, Beijing, over which Yan Bin has control. The Hainan Company is controlled by the Thai Xu family and has no equity or control relationship with Chinese Red Bull.
In April 2015, the business scope of the Hainan Company changed from 'production and sales of Red Bull beverages' to 'production, storage, import and export, wholesale and commission agency of food and beverages, and related activities, as well as technical services and consulting services'.
The change in business scope seems to pave the way for Thai Red Bull to join forces with Austrian Red Bull to attack the Chinese market.
According to TCP Group's official website, in 2014, the international version of Red Bull was introduced to China. That year, Austrian Red Bull established Ruibu Beverage Trading (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. in China. Over the past three years, Austrian Red Bull has entered the Chinese market through import channels, but with little marketing promotion, sales have been lukewarm. Is it a case of not adapting to local conditions, or a period of lurking and waiting before the storm?
Austrian Red Bull, under Mateschitz, sold 6.062 billion cans globally in 2016, 'still a 1.8% increase compared to the already very successful 2015'. Against a backdrop of sluggish growth, the Chinese market, dormant for three years, is becoming increasingly critical.
III
Huabin Group Has Other Strategies
Controlling Production and Channels, Binding Suppliers
By dragging its ally ORG Technology into the lawsuit, Thai Red Bull seems to have 'ill intentions'. Yan Bin is no pushover, and his confidence in the long-term game seems well-founded.
In the view of a sales manager in Chengdu, 'The struggle is above; our production and operations continue as usual'. As for whether the Red Bull licensing renewal will continue to fall on Huabin Group, he firmly believes: 'If not us, who else?'
The confidence of this sales manager comes from the brand image and channel strength built by 'Chinese Red Bull' over 22 years.
When dealing with the Xu family, who demand equity control and limited trademark authorization, Yan Bin kept a card up his sleeve. When 'Chinese Red Bull' expanded production capacity and sales channels, Yan Bin placed the newly established production and sales entities under Huabin International Investment (Group) Co., Ltd. (abbreviated as Huabin Group).
In 2005, 2009, and 2012, Huabin Group successively established Red Bull Vitamin Beverage (Hubei) Co., Ltd. (abbreviated as Hubei Company), Guangdong Red Bull Vitamin Beverage Co., Ltd. (abbreviated as Guangdong Company), and Red Bull Vitamin Beverage (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. (abbreviated as Jiangsu Company).
These three market entities, with both production and sales operations, are 100% owned by Huabin Investment (China) Co., Ltd. (abbreviated as Huabin Investment), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Huabin Group.
These production bases are deeply bound to suppliers. As the beverage can supplier for Chinese Red Bull, ORG Technology mentioned in its announcement that Red Bull orders account for 60% of its revenue.
Conversely, the beverage cans needed by Red Bull are mainly supplied by ORG Technology. Additionally, Yan Bin's side has signed long-term contracts with ORG Technology, and Huabin Group's Red Bull production bases and ORG Technology's packaging production bases are built in the same areas. The two sides have become symbiotic and mutually dependent.
Production alone is not enough. In 2006, Yan Bin specifically established Beijing Red Bull Beverage Sales Co., Ltd. (abbreviated as Sales Company). On the official website of 'Chinese Red Bull', Red Bull has 40 branches nationwide, 10 of which are subsidiaries of the Sales Company. Business registration information shows that the Sales Company also has branches in 28 regions across the country.
In the FMCG field, mastering the distribution channels and production capacity means having half the say.
'This is a stage built by Huabin Group itself. If Thai Red Bull chooses to build its own system or find another partner, it will inevitably need a磨合期 (break-in period), and any slip-up could give the opponent an opportunity.' What this regional sales manager, who has worked at Red Bull for 10 years, did not say outright is that the system in Huabin Group's hands is like a backup of the Red Bull production and sales system. If there is a change, this backup system could at any time give rise to a new Red Bull.
IV
The 'Red Bull Tycoons' Open and Covert Struggles
Trademark Squatting Continues, Infringement Lawsuits Rise
Both sides are still weighing the pros and cons. News of the expiration of 'Chinese Red Bull's' authorization began to spread at the end of 2016. Half a year later, both Thai Red Bull and Huabin Group remain silent.
In early July this year, 'Chinese Red Bull' conducted a summer promotion with nearly 200 million yuan in prizes, continued to sponsor variety shows, place products in films and TV series, and sponsor sports events. These signs have led outsiders to speculate whether it means the trademark renewal has been successful.
But then ORG Technology was taken to court by TCP Group. TCP Group requested that ORG Technology immediately stop 'counterfeiting and unauthorized manufacturing of 'Red Bull', 'REDBULL', and graphic trademark labels', prohibit sales, and require the recall and destruction of inventory and sold labels. Only then did the outside world realize that the dispute over Chinese Red Bull's authorization had entered a white-hot stage.
A query on the 'China Trademark Network' shows that in squatting Red Bull trademarks, the Thai side has been winning step by step.
On November 21, 1994, TCP Group (matching the English name, i.e., Thai TCP) applied for the 'RedBull Red Bull' trademark, International Class 32, representing 'beer, mineral water, soda, non-alcoholic beverages, fruit juices, preparations', and it was registered successfully on October 7, 1996, with a 20-year exclusive right. The trademark process status shows that on June 1, 2016, the National Trademark Office accepted its renewal application.
However, the above trademark is not the design on the golden squat can of Chinese Red Bull. The first application for a trademark with 'two red bulls butting heads, with 'RedBull' and 'Red Bull' below' was filed on January 13, 1997, by Beijing Langchen Beverage Co., Ltd. and TCP Group simultaneously. The result was that Beijing Langchen's registered trademark was 'revoked', and TCP Group's registration succeeded.
Oddly, business registration information shows that Beijing Langchen was established in 2003, with its sole shareholder being Red Bull Vitamin (Hubei) Co., Ltd., for which no further information can be found.
Until May 2017, TCP Group did not stop registering trademarks. Lawyer Zhuang Xiaoyuan from Chaofan Shares counted that TCP Group registered a total of 6 designs, covering almost all categories in 'International Classification', all as exclusive trademarks.
Huabin Group seems to have started putting eggs in other baskets long ago, successively acquiring 25% of Vita Coco, the largest coconut water seller in the US, introducing the children's drink Capri-Sun, and taking control of high-end water VOSS. ORG Technology is also trying to shake off the shadow of being a 'Red Bull supplier'. In one of its corporate promotional articles, ORG Technology mentioned: 'Don't forget old friends, actively make new friends.'
Red Bull has been selling well in countries around the world for many years, and this business has brought enormous wealth to the Xu family and Yan Bin. According to the 2016 Hurun Global Rich List, the Xu Shu'en (son of Xu Shubiao) family and Yan Bin each had wealth of $9.2 billion, tied at 127th. However, on the 2017 list, Yan Bin had 'overtaken on a curve', ranking 107th with $11 billion; the Xu Shu'en family ranked 145th with $9.3 billion.
The century-long battle over Red Bull continues. Perhaps after the dust settles on this dispute, the wealth landscape on both sides of the negotiating table will be redrawn again.
**Source: National Business Daily**
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