The company's managing director, Prasobchai Limthammarat, said that motorists were paying more attention to engine-enhancing additive products because the burden of fuel prices kept getting heavier. After the latest price hike petrol sells for Bt27-Bt28 per litre, compared to about Bt15 just two years ago.

He claimed that his company's products helped decrease friction, which reduces of engine erosion and cuts petrol consumption by 10 per cent to 18 per cent. For these reasons, sales of Hugger's products have been growing 20 per cent a month this year, he said.

Prasobchai said the company made four products: H-40 for two-stroke and four-stroke motorcycles, H-250 for diesel and benzene engines, and two-injector cleaning agents called H-2000 and H-3000.

Hugger plans to spend up to Bt7 million for marketing and incentives in addition to up to Bt4 million on advertising.

Prasobchai said Hugger had 9,000 direct sales members. One quarter of the members actively sell the company's products, 50 per cent of them are regular members who buy products for their own use and the rest are "irregular" members, which he did not explain.

He said Hugger would launch five new products this year. Two of them - H-9001 and H-8000 for diesel and benzene engines - will be launched next month. The company also plans to increase its membership to 20,000 by the end of this year.

Hugger is one of nine players in a market worth between Bt600 and Bt700 million. Five of them are manufacturers and the rest are importers. However, Prasobchai doesn't consider them competitors because they are not direct sellers and are not specialists in engine-enhancing additives.

Nitida Asawanipont

The Nation