After cricket & F1, Amul to sponsor Indian Olympic contingent

The year 2011 saw Asia’s largest milk brand, Amul, sponsoring the Netherlands cricket team in the ICC Cricket World Cup and Switzerland-headquartered Sauber F1 team at the inaugural Indian Grand Prix. ‘The Taste of India’ will now be sponsoring the Indian contingent at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Continuing its focus on the youth segment, the Anand-based Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which owns and markets the Amul brand, has been looking to associate itself with one global sporting event after another. Hence, the 1974-founded GCMMF signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) for sponsorship of the Indian contingent. With this, Amul has become the official sponsor of the Indian team in the category of dairy products.

“Amul is committed to strengthening the Olympic movement in India and encourage young generation from all corners of the country to take up Olympic sports,” GCMMF managing director R S Sodhi said. “I take great pleasure and pride in announcing our sponsorship of the Indian contingent to the London 2012 Olympic Games as an ‘Olympic Partner’.”

The MoU was signed by Sodhi and IOA secretary-general Raja Randhir Singh, member of the International Olympic Committee. The function was presided by IOA acting president Vijay Kumar Malhotra in the presence of association chairman (finance commission) Anil Khanna.

As part of the sponsorship, Amul will launch a series of advertising campaigns for milk, butter, cheese, paneer and ghee to promote this association in the coming months. According to Sodhi, Amul will launch special product packaging that will highlight its sponsorship of the Indian contingent for Olympics.

Explaining the rationale behind the association, Sodhi said milk being “nature’s original energy drink” plays a pivotal role in building the physical and mental strength of the athletes. “Nutritious dairy diet comprising milk, cheese, yogurt, butter, etc, is an important part in the diets of athletes round the world. India is the world’s largest producer of milk, while Amul is not only India’s but Asia’s largest milk brand,” he said. “The association and activities around it will help in engaging the youth so that they can enjoy a healthy life and strive to become swifter, higher and stronger in their endeavours.”

Sodhi noted that the Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate. “Participation in Olympics is the aspiration of every athlete. With the kind of investments made by our country in this arena to select, nurture and train the best athletes, we are confident that Indian contingent will deliver the best ever performance in the London games and make our country proud,” Sodhi added.