The European Commission has launched a formal investigation into the energy drink manufacturer Red Bull to determine whether it has broken EU competition rules by restricting competition in the energy drinks market.
Red Bull is suspected of creating a Europe-wide strategy to hamper the sales of larger energy drink cans, mainly through supermarkets and petrol station shops.
A Commission statement says these practices targeted products sold by Red Bull’s closest competitor.
The EU executive is examining whether Red Bull may have offered financial and other incentives to retailers to either stop selling or reduce the visibility of rival energy drinks in larger sizes.
It is also investigating whether Red Bull misused its role as "category manager" — a practice where a supplier is asked by retailers to oversee the marketing of an entire product category, including competitors’ products.
As category manager, Red Bull could have influenced which products are promoted, how they are presented, and what products are stocked by shops, the Commission explained.
First probe of its kind
This marks the first time the Commission has opened an investigation into the possible misuse of a category management position by a supplier to disadvantage competing products.
Red Bull, headquartered in Austria, operates in the European Economic Area through several subsidiaries.
The Commission carried out unannounced inspections at Red Bull’s headquarters and other sites in March 2023, continuing these checks at its offices in Brussels during June and later that year.
Red Bull challenged the Commission’s inspection decisions in court, but the EU General Court rejected the company’s claims in October 2023.
If confirmed, these practices could amount to an abuse of a dominant market position, which is prohibited under EU law.
