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Sponsoring a cricket team is the easiest way to reach out to a young audience, feels global diary brand Amul which is sponsoring three teams during the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, which includes South Africa, USA and Sri Lanka
“We wanted to associate our brand with a sport. There were two ways before us: Advertising sponsorships and Team sponsorships. Today in an era when media is highly fragmented, team sponsorships work very well. So an Amul logo displayed on the USA team’s jersey is visible on television, digital and in print,” says Jayen Mehta, managing director of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF).
“Secondly, unlike a spot in television which is only for a targeted audience restricted to a region or a country, the team jersey is visible across various continents. But this is an easy way to reach out to a younger audience. For a brand like ours this is a good association. This helps in peripheral brand building and awareness for other products,” Mehta told business line recently.
- Also read: T20 World Cup 2024, Ind vs Pak: India beat arch-rivals Pakistan by six runs
In the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup played in India, Amul had sponsored Afghanistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka. In 2011, Amul brand associated itself with cricket when it sponsored the Netherlands team. Thereafter the brand also sponsored teams like New Zealand
Amul’s move to sponsor the USA cricket team comes immediately after the Indian dairy brand launched its range of fresh milk in the United States in March 2024. GCMMF has tied up with MIchigan Milk Producers Association for selling fresh milk in the East Coast and Midwest markets of the US. When asked how the fresh initiative in the United States was progressing, Mehta without revealing any numbers said, “It has picked up. We are doing good.”
Apart from Amul, the Karnataka Milk Federation is also sponsoring the jerseys of Scotland and Ireland during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. The logo of Nandini brand is being displayed on the attire of both the teams.
World’s biggest probiotic brand
Meanwhile, Amul, which has positioned itself as one of the largest probiotic brands in the world, has seen a 50 percent growth in the sales of its probiotic buttermilk this summer. “This summer, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) has sold 50 percent more buttermilk than it did last year.
We are processing an estimated 45-50 lakh litres of buttermilk every day and all of it is probiotic. The average is around 30-35 lakh litres. We are the world’s largest probiotic brand,” Jayen Mehta of GCMMF said.
Probiotics are live beneficial culture which when administered in adequate amounts confer a beneficial health effect on the human host. They are known not only in aiding digestion, but improving overall gut health and immune system. Amul which has been selling probiotic buttermilk at ₹30 per litre has also launched “Tadka Chass” earlier this year.
- Also read: Afghanistan’s Rashid hails team effort after special New Zealand win
The new product is a spicy version of the buttermilk. “Amul started working on probiotics way back in 2006. We tried launching a probiotic product but it failed. Later in 2007 we got into probiotic ice creams,” the official added. In January 2007, GCMMF for the first time introduced the Amul range of probiotic and sugar free ice creams that were aimed at the health conscious and diabetic.
