European Commission launches new Red Bull investigation

The Austrian brand is being investigated for restricting competition in the energy drink market. The regulators suspect that the company has developed a Europe-wide strategy to restrict competition from rivals selling products larger than 250 milliliters, particularly in the Netherlands.

This follows previous raids that took place back in 2023 after allegations by rival brand Monster Energy. The company challenged the inspection as disproportionate at the European Court of Justice, but it failed.

The European Union's competition commissioner, Teresa Ribera, said: "We want to see if these practices may be keeping prices high and limiting choice of energy drinks for consumers. This investigation is part of the commission’s continued efforts to enforce competition rules in the food supply chain to the benefit of European consumers."

The company could be fined up to 10% of its annual turnover if they are found guilty of breaching the EU's rules.

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