After sponsoring the Scotland and Ireland teams for the T20 Cricket World Cup, the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF), which markets its dairy products under the Nandini brand, has decided to promote its brand in the Indian Super League (ISL) football tournament.
The 2024-25 Indian Super League will be the 11th season of the ISL and is expected to run from September 2024 to March 2025, spanning around six months and featuring 163 matches with 13 teams.
Also, read: MC Exclusive: Karnataka's Nandini to sponsor Scotland and Ireland cricket teams for T20 World Cup
KMF has recently floated a tender inviting firms to provide promotion and brand services for the Nandini brand during ISL Football 2024. The contract includes central sponsorship with branding on LED boards, presentation backdrops, dugout areas, and in-stadia kiosks for all ISL matches, along with 300 seconds of TV and OTT exposure and social media management throughout the season. KMF Managing Director MK Jagadish confirmed the development to Moneycontrol. “We have decided for central sponsorship for the ISL football tournament,” he said.
Nandini's logo appeared on the leading arm of the jerseys for both the Scotland and Ireland teams during the T20 Cricket World Cup, co-hosted by the West Indies and the United States in June. The two teams also promoted the brand during the tournament. In the logo, 'Nandini' was written in both Kannada and English. Nandini is already an associate sponsor of the Bengaluru Bulls team in the Pro Kabaddi League. The dairy cooperative had aspirations to sponsor Bengaluru’s IPL side, RCB, as well, but this has yet to materialise. Nandini also endorsed USA cricketer Nosthush Kenjige during the T20 Cricket World Cup. Kenjige, who initially played in the Karnataka State Cricket Association’s first division before moving to the USA, hails from Kenjige village in the Mudigere taluk of Chikkamagaluru district.
Jagadish said that KMF will launch Nandini idli and dosa batter, with whey protein, in the Bengaluru market within 15 days. “The product will be available in all Nandini outlets as well as on online e-commerce platforms,” he added.
Also, read: Batter Wars! Karnataka's Nandini to launch idli & dosa batter in Bengaluru in two months
Other products by Nandini include Splash, a whey-based energy drink, as well as ice cream, sweets, cookies, milk powder, and snacks.
Nandini to expand to Delhi
KMF is set to expand its reach to the national capital, Delhi, with fresh dairy products such as milk, curd, butter, and ghee. Currently, KMF sells these products in Karnataka, Maharashtra (including Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune, Solapur, and other areas), Goa, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Kerala.
KMF's entry to Delhi is aimed at expanding into the North Indian market, where Nandini is likely to compete with the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which markets dairy products under the Amul brand.
Delhi’s dairy market is now dominated by Mother Dairy, Amul, Madhusudan, Namaste India and others. KMF has recently floated a tender for the transportation of milk through insulated road milk tankers from the Mandya District Co-Operative Milk Producers’ Societies Union to Delhi.
“We are planning to launch milk, curd, butter, and ghee in Delhi from October. We have already conducted trial runs, which took 54 hours by road and were successful as we maintained the quality,” a senior KMF official said on the condition of anonymity.
The selected firm will deploy 2,190 tankers to transport milk from Mandya to Delhi and surrounding areas, including parts of Haryana bordering Delhi. KMF handles milk collected from thousands of farmers across Karnataka, a highly perishable commodity. “
With the distance from Mandya to Delhi and parts of Haryana being around 2,400 to 2,500 km, and a round trip of around 5,000 km, the selected firm must transport the milk with the utmost care while maintaining quality and desired temperatures,” the tender document states.
“The daily estimated quantity of milk to be transported is around 100,000 kg. Considering the 33 KL tankers’ capacity, the Mandya Milk Union may require 3 tankers daily, with an estimated turnaround time of seven days. Around 25 tankers, including four standby tankers, are required per week,” it adds.
Also read: MC Explains | The white war between Nandini and Amul ahead of Karnataka polls
KMF comprises 15 unions, 24 lakh milk producer members, 14,000 milk producers' cooperative societies spread across 22,000 villages, and procures 8.4 million liters of milk daily. It offers over 65 milk and related products and disburses Rs 17 crore daily to farmers.
Additionally, it supplies products to the armed forces and exports milk. In 2021-22, KMF reported a turnover of nearly Rs 19,800 crore. KMF also has a presence in international markets, including the Middle East, Singapore, Bhutan, and Myanmar, with some frozen sweets also making their way to the US.
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