Only introduced to the United States in 1997, the brand is nearly 50 years old in Thailand.ĭeveloped by Bangkok’s T.C. M-150’s dominance has required taking on Red Bull, the original iconic energy drink. Osotspa now plans an aggressive expansion in Europe, the Middle East and especially the United States, the world’s largest energy drink market. The drink, produced by the Bangkok-based firm Osotspa, controls more than 65 percent of the Thai market, which is estimated at $500 million, according to the Food Industry Thailand consultancy. 357 and “Raeng,” which is Thai for “power.” Most share the same nearly indistinguishable taste: a non-carbonated, jolt of sweetness reminiscent of liquified gummy bears.īut the current king of energy drink battlefield is M-150, its macho name vaguely suggesting firecrackers or assault rifles. Decorated with flying tigers and buffalo skulls, they’re sold under a variety of tough-guy titles: Shark, Magnum. The drinks are cheap (33 cents), spiked with caffeine and sold in five-ounce chug-and-toss glass bottles.
No country consumes more energy drinks than Thailand, where the average adult consumer drinks a staggering three gallons per year - four times more than in America, according to Zenith International, a U.K.-based market research firm. “This stuff kills the need to sleep,” he said.
Rush hour is nigh and Mongkon fears braving Bangkok’s dodge-and-weave traffic with dulled senses. He drains the contents in five hard gulps. His cigarettes ran out hours ago.Įach afternoon at about this time, Mongkon slips away to a nearby 7-Eleven and buys a bottle of M-150, a Thai fatigue-fighting tonic. In his shift’s seventh hour, he is lulled halfway to sleep by the drone of idling cars. Nicknamed “Big,” Mongkon earns loose change zipping passengers through gridlock traffic on his bike. On a sidewalk near Bangkok’s busiest commercial district, the spindly 22-year-old is slumped over his electric blue motorbike like a rag doll. In a land hooked on cheap energy drinks, a contender seeks Red Bull’s throne.īANGKOK, Thailand - Mongkon Kaewgan is exhausted.
0 kommentar(er)
