Red Bull sold one can for almost every person on earth last year

Red Bull sales rose so much last year that the Austrian energy drink maker could have supplied almost every person on earth with a can of its namesake beverage.

Sales soared to a record 7.5 billion cans worldwide last year, propelled by growth in emerging markets like Brazil, India and Africa, said the company, which has crafted its brand around extreme sports sponsorships. The world’s population reached 7.7 billion people.

Revenue increased 9.5% to 6.1 billion euros ($6.6 billion). Profit levels weren’t disclosed but the website said they too rose to a record, meaning Red Bull’s billionaire owners could be set for another windfall later this year. The company distributed more than half a billion euros of profit to shareholders in 2019.

Thai entrepreneur and occasional duck farmer Chaleo Yoovidhya teamed up with Austrian marketing whiz Dietrich Mateschitz in 1987 after Mateschitz discovered the energy drink sold by Chaleo’s firm while looking to counteract jet lag on a business trip.

Closely-held Red Bull is owned by Mateschitz and Yoovidhya’s family, and both became billionaires thanks to the tonic they invented. Mateschitz is Austria’s richest person with $12.4 billion of wealth, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Its latest results mean the Fuschl, Austria-based company sold on average more than 20 million cans of the namesake soda every day of 2019. That’s about 850,000 cans every hour. Growth was fastest in India, with sales up 37%, Brazil (up 30%) and Africa (up 25%).