Osotspa Co, the manufacturer of M-150 energy drinks, has brought in former executives from Unilever Thai Holdings in order to strengthen its management team and stay at the forefront of the consumer product industry.
Among them is Wannipa Bhakdibutr, who joined Osotspa a few months ago as president. He was followed by three more, who started at the beginning of this year.
The three are Suthipa Panyamahasup, who joins as chief marketing officer, Sarayut Jitcharungporn, who will take care of sales and Apiwan Chatrapongporn, in charge of trade marketing.
Mrs Wannipa said Osotspa is overhauling its management with the objective of growing a business that remains sustainable during the changing business environment. She said she is honoured to join the 120-year-old consumer product conglomerate.
As the company's president, she will put her focus on outlining business strategies for beverages and personal care products before expanding to other categories including health products.
Yesterday, Osotspa announced the company would allocate 100 million baht to support and strengthen Thai football. It aims to use sports marketing to reinforce the M-150 brand in Thailand and Indochina.
M-150 will provide 50 million baht to the Football Association of Thailand (FTA), of which 40 million baht is designated for supporting Thai football and 10 million baht for promoting the Thai national football team and football league competitions.
In turn, M-150 will become a title sponsor for the Thai League 2 M-150 Championship, a co-sponsor for the Thai League, a co-sponsor for the Thai national football team and regional sponsor for the M-150 Cup tournament between the Thai national football team and other teams from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV) for one year, starting in 2017.
This will coincide with an array of marketing campaigns and activities to delight football fans in Thailand and CLMV countries.
Petch Osathanugrah, chairman and chief executive of Osotspa, said the company has continually supported Thai sports in many areas. Through its M-150 brand, Osotspa will be one of the driving forces to strengthen the foundation of the Thai football sector.
"We are ready stand be side-by-side with Thai football and support its drive to achieve its goals. We hope the Thai national football team will one day make our dreams come true to play in World Cup," he said.
Osotspa is using a sports marketing strategy to enhance brand promotion while expanding its blue-collar customer base locally and in CLMV markets.
She said the company is focusing on football as it is the most popular sport in Thailand and neighbouring countries. Its strategy aims to increase brand engagement and awareness among customers via the football sponsorship.
She forecast M-150 energy drink will grow on par with the country's GDP growth this year. The Thai energy drink market worth 20 billion bah has grown 1-2% over the past few years.