Dive Brief:

• Red Bull announced plans to begin selling its energy drinks in China and to set up offices in Shanghai.
• The Austrian-based company has modest ambitions for China, saying its "aim is a selective distribution of Red Bull, limited to urban areas and a target group that knows the brand from abroad."

Dive Insight:

There's something quite encouraging about Red Bull's news. First, the company's announcement that it wants "to develop a feel for the market and the consumers," feels quite different from the commonplace we-have-to-teach-them-to-be-like-us attitude we see when Western companies enter Asian markets. Second, for those of us old enough to remember when China was a completely closed society, it's both amazing and delightful to learn that enough of China's citizens have traveled abroad in recent years that there would be a critical mass of people there familiar with any brand other than Coke.