In 1982, Dietrich Mateschitz became aware of products called tonic drinks, which enjoyed widespread popularity throughout Far East. His idea to market these functional drinks outside Asia evolved whilst he sat at a bar at the Mandarin Hotel in Hong Kong. In 1984, Mateschitz founded Red Bull. He fine-tuned the product, developed a unique marketing concept and started selling Red Bull Energy Drink on the Austrian market in 1987. This was not only the launch of a completely new product, in fact it was the birth of a totally new product category. In 2008, Red Bull launched its own Cola: Red Bull Simply Cola ? Strong and Natural. Very much in line with the needs of today's consumers, Red Bull Cola - unlike traditional colas - only contains ingredients of 100% natural sources. In 2009, Red Bull extended its product portfolio with Red Bull Energy Shots: Starting in the USA, now gradually rolling out globally. Around 4 billion cans of Red Bull are consumed every year. The responsibility for the success of the world's No. 1 energy drink is shared by the company's 6,900 employees around the world. The Red Bull headquarters are based in Fuschl am See, not far from Salzburg, Austria.