A Load of Bull

One of the most fascinating statistics that I came across recently concerns Red Bull. Now we all know that certain items, like Rolex Watches, Prada bags and diamaonds cost significantly less to produce than they do to buy. Luxury goods are heavily marketed and people willingly pay a premium for them. And I guess we know that a can of sugary-flavoured water isn't exactly going to cost a fortune to produce either.

But I was still impressed to learn that on a can of Red Bull, the buyer pays a premium of about 1000%, as it costs approximately 14 cents to produce each can sold. And following on from that, it appears that in 2008, it is planned to spend more on running the Red Bull Racing team (this may also include Squadra Toro Rosso) than it costs to manufacture the entire year's output of Red Bull product.

So if you happen to be one of those people that go out clubbing a lot and rely on the well-known energy drink (with or without vodka) to keep you going, then thank you. Because without you, there would only be eight teams on the Formula One grid next year.

Now please excuse me while I go off to the lab with my collection of flavourings, sugar and pure Swiss water. I reckon that in a year or two, the Zurich Gnome drinks brand will be well enough known for me to be able to run an F1 team of my own.