The year 2011 saw Asia's largest milk brand Amul sponsoring Netherlands' cricket team in the ICC Cricket World Cup and Switzerland-headquartered Sauber F1 team at the inaugural Indian Grand Prix. As if it wasn't enough 'The Taste of India' will now be sponsoring the Indian contingent to the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Continuing its focus on the youth segment, the Anand-based Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) that owns and markets Amul brand has been looking to associate itself with one global sporting event after another. Hence, 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. I take great pleasure and pride in announcing our sponsorship of the Indian contingent to the London 2012 Olympic Games as 'Olympic Partner'," said RS Sodhi, managing director of GCMMF. The MoU was signed by Raja Randhir Singh, Secretary General, IOA and Member, International Olympic Committee and R S Sodhi, Managing Director, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (Amul) in a function presided by Prof. Vijay Kumar Malhotra, Acting President, Indian Olympic Association in presence of Shri Anil Khanna, Chairman, Finance Commission of the IOA.
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 that milk is nature's original energy drink and plays a pivotal role in building the physical and mental strength of the athletes. "Nutritious dairy diet comprising of milk, cheese, yogurt, butter etc. is an important part in the diets of athletes around the world. India is the largest producer of milk in the world and Amul is not only India's but Asia's largest milk brand. 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," he said.
Amul has recently associated itself with sports events like Cricket World Cup and Formula 1 to engage the youth. Sodhi mentioned 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 and 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.