(CNN) -- Dietrich Mateschitz grabbed the energy drink market by the horns when he introduced Red Bull more than a decade ago, and he hasn't let go.
According to company legend, the idea for Red Bull came about as Mateschitz sat at a Hong Kong hotel bar in 1982, drinking a popular local health tonic. As he sipped, he envisioned a business opportunity to market the Asian energy drink to Western consumers.
Two years later, he teamed up with Thai businessman Chaleo Yoovidhya, fiddled with the traditional formula to make it less syrupy and more fizzy, and renamed the beverage Red Bull.
Packaged in silver and blue cans that picture two red bulls fighting, Mateschitz marketed the concoction to young people as an energy booster, using sassy advertising spots and the catchphrase "Red Bull gives you wings."
First launched in Mateschitz's homeland of Austria, Red Bull branched out to neighboring European countries before being introduced in the United States in 1997. Today, the company reports sales in more than 100 countries.
Red Bull spends relatively little on traditional print and TV advertising, instead relying on sponsorships of extreme sports or giving away samples at local events.
Mateschitz also has been involved in Formula One racing for more than a decade, using the events to draw attention to his brand. In addition, he sponsors the World Stunt Awards, an annual fund-raiser to help injured stunt workers.
The company's nontraditional marketing has paid off: More than a billion cans of Red Bull are consumed each year, according to the company. The drink's global popularity has surged quickly. It now captures about 70 percent of the worldwide energy drink market, according to Hoover's Inc., an information database of the world's top businesses.
Red Bull has paid off for Mateschitz, too. Forbes magazine welcomed the beverage mogul to its billionaires' list in 2003.
Mateschitz credits good marketing -- as well as a good product -- for his success, he told a Thailand newspaper last year.
"It is essential that one develops a unique communication and advertising strategy ... a campaign that combines body and mind in a very nonconformist way," he said in an interview with the Bangkok Post. "The image of Red Bull is definitely nothing to do with any food product, but has a luxury, lifestyle identification."
