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 250 ml can as sold in Germany (old design) | |
| Type | Cola |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Red Bull GmbH |
| Country of origin | Austria |
| Introduced | 2008; 17 years ago (2008) |
| Website | www |
Red Bull Simply Cola (previously branded asRed Bull Cola) is a beverage fromRed Bull GmbH. Thecola, which containsnatural flavouring andcaffeine, was introduced in 2008 in several countries.
Red Bull Simply Cola is flavored withplant extracts, includinggalangal,vanilla,mustard seed,lime,kola nut,cocoa,liquorice,cinnamon,lemon,ginger,coca leaf,orange,corn mint,pine,cardamom,mace,clove, andlemon juice concentrate.[1] It also containscaffeine fromcoffee beans; at 45 milligrams per 355ml (12-ounce) can, the caffeine level is regulated by the FDA, it contains more thanCoca-Cola (34 mg) orPepsi-Cola (37.5 mg), but less thanDiet Coke (47 mg) orMountain Dew (54 mg).[2] The cola contains significantly less caffeine than Red Bull's eponymous energy drink (80 mg per 250 ml).[3] The drink containssugar andcaramel color and lacks thephosphoric acid andhigh fructose corn syrup used in some other colas.
In 2008, the year of its release, Red Bull Simply Cola was available inAustria,Azerbaijan, theCzech Republic,Croatia,Egypt,Switzerland, theNetherlands,Spain,Poland,Germany,Bulgaria,Belgium,Ireland,Italy,[4]India,Thailand,Romania,Hungary,Russia,Slovakia,New Zealand,Mexico, theUnited Kingdom and theUnited States.[1]
Red Bull Simply Cola is packaged in 250 and 355 ml (8.8 and 12.5 imp fl oz) cans. The larger cans are sold both individually and in 4-packs.[5]
Red Bull Simply Cola has been promoted by Red Bull GmbH's two Formula 1 teams,Red Bull Racing andScuderia Toro Rosso, being featured on the sides of their car's rear wings from 2008 to 2011. Simply Cola sponsorship returned to Toro Rosso in 2016 and would stay with the team until they reformed asAlphatauri in 2020. Simply Cola would return to Red Bull Racing in 2018, though the logo would now be displayed on the inside of the side of the rear wing, where it has remained as of 2025.
Red Bull discontinueddistribution of Red Bull Simply Cola in the US in late July 2011 to focus on its core markets, Austria and Germany.
In 2019, Red Bull released itsOrganics line, which includes a new version of Red Bull Simply Cola.
In June 2021, Red Bull Simply Cola made its debut inTurkey.
In May 2009,food regulators fromGermany discovered trace amounts ofcocaine fromcoca leafextracts in Red Bull Simply Cola,Pepsi One, andDiet Coke.Red Bull GmbH responded by insisting that only de-cocainised coca leaf extracts are used in the production of Red Bull Cola.[6] The amounts in question are minute, around 0.13micrograms of cocaine in a can of Red Bull Cola, so about 100,000 liters of the cola would need to be consumed for the cocaine to be harmful, according to Bernhard Hoffman, afood scientist forNorth Rhine-Westphalia who conducted the Red Bull study. Despite this, the drink was ordered off the shelves in the German states ofHesse, North Rhine-Westphalia,Thuringia andRhineland-Palatinate.[7][8] After theGerman Institute for Risk Assessment declared the product safe in a study,[9] the drink was put back on sale from 24 August 2009 onwards.
After the news of the German ban,Taiwan confiscated 18,000 cans ofRed Bull Energy Drink;[10] however, the country later acknowledged the mistake.
