The Amul-Nandini milk war is heating up and is likely to spill onto the cricket field. The Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF), which markets dairy products like milk and curd under the Nandini brand, has pitched for sponsoring one or more teams at the T20 Cricket World Cup in June.
KMF has floated a tender inviting firms to promote the Nandini logo on the lead arm jersey (i.e., right arm for left handed batsmen and left arm for right-handed batters) of one or more of the participating teams in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, which is scheduled to be co-hosted by the West Indies and the United States from June 1-29. There are a record 20 teams in this year's edition of the Twenty20 cricket championship.
Nandini is in a way taking a leaf out of rival Amul's playbook. In 2011, the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation, which markets its dairy products under the Amul brand, made a splash with its decision to sponsor the Netherlands team at the World Cup that year. Since then, it has been associated with the cricket teams of New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. In 2019, Amul became the principal sponsor of the Afghanistan team after the latter attained International Cricket Council (ICC) full-member status and renewed its association ahead of the 2023 World Cup.
KMF officials told Moneycontrol that they are looking for one or two teams including India, South Africa, West Indies, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Oman, Netherlands, Uganda and Namibia.
KMF managing director MK Jagadish told Moneycontrol, "We have issued a tender and are in the process of finalising it. We will award the work order after receiving permission from the Election Commission." This is because being a public sector undertaking, KMF is governed by the model code of conduct that kicked in when the dates for the 2024 Lok Sabha election was announced on March 16, and all major decisions have to be approved by the electoral body.
Also, read: MC Explains | The white war between Nandini and Amul ahead of Karnataka polls
Asked about team preferences, he said, "We are considering teams like the Netherlands and Sri Lanka, and if any other team fits within our budget, we will consider it. We will review the proposals from international private advertising agencies with ties to these teams and make a decision. They will provide sponsorship quotes for each team and based on that, we will make a selection. For example, if two teams fit within our budget, then we will consider sponsoring both, and if the price allows, we may sponsor more teams."
Jagadish said KMF 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.
On Nandini's venture into the T20 World Cup, he explained, "This initiative is primarily aimed at enhancing brand visibility. Additionally, players will participate in photo shoots with us, facilitating marketing opportunities for advertisements. It will provide significant mileage for the brand, akin to brand upliftment."
He said that they are seeking partnerships with smaller teams since they come at lower costs and yet offer visibility on the international stage. "This presents a great opportunity to showcase our brand to the international market."
Sponsoring smaller teams come at a fraction of the cost than that of more favoured sides. "There are A-category brands that can afford the highly inflated prices of advertising that the Indian cricket team charges. And then there are B, C, and D category brands that cannot afford it. Now, brands have found a nifty way of saying that cricket is consumed not only on the ground but also on television. If one sponsors a smaller team, like Afghanistan, Indians who watch Afghanistan matches end up viewing the brand. It’s a smart way to circumvent the high costs of being associated with the Indian team while grabbing eyeballs from the markets that they work with," brand and business strategy specialist Harish Bijoor, told Moneycontrol.
Nandini is already an associate sponsor of the Bengaluru Bulls team in the Pro Kabaddi league. The dairy cooperative held aspirations to sponsor Bengaluru’s IPL side, RCB, as well. "Unfortunately, we couldn't secure a slot since it was too expensive," said Jagadish.
Tender likely to be finalised in April
The tender for providing promotion and branding services for KMF's Nandini brand for the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 cricket teams is likely to be finalised in April 2024. KMF will conduct a pre-bid meeting on March 21.
The bidder has to quote for all the above-listed teams individually including applicable taxes. The work/cost includes printing of the Nandini logo on the jerseys as well as coordination and liaison fees/charges.
Also, read: ICC World Cup 2019: Amul, Kent RO backing international teams indicate reverse brand colonialism
Amul-Nandini battle
Ahead of the 2023 Karnataka polls, political parties in the state were at loggerheads over dairy products. This was sparked by Gujarat-based Amul's decision to enter the Bengaluru market, which the Congress alleged would affect Karnataka's dairy cooperative and hundreds of thousands of dairy farmers in the state.
KMF comprises 14 unions, 24 lakh milk producer members, 14,000 milk producers' cooperative societies spread across 22,000 villages, and procures 8.4 million litres 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. Amul, on the other hand, reported a provisional turnover of Rs 55,055 crore in 2022-23.
Also, read: Amul vs Nandini: Against whom do the numbers stack up?
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