Cargill Foods India to be principal sponsor of Rising Pune Supergiants IPL team

PUNE: Cargill Foods India has said it will be the principal sponsor of MS Dhoni-captained Rising Pune Supergiants team in the upcoming edition of Indian Premier League T20 cricket tournament.

The company on April 4 said that the proportion of housewives watching cricket has increased to 30 per cent since the inception of IPL matches, which made it associate with a sport for the first time to promote its brand.

"We will display the logo of Cargill Foods India, the principal sponsor, on the prominent side of the players’ headgear and caps. The activation of the team rights will also be given only to the principal sponsors," said Raghu Iyer, CEO of Rising Pune Supergiants.

The team, owned by the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, was founded in 2015. It is currently coached by New Zealand cricketer Stephen Fleming.

While refusing to reveal the value of the association with Cargill, Iyer said that a couple of sponsorships will be announced in the next few days.

The primarily edible oils company said it is "the official healthy cooking partners of RSP". With this association, the company intends to be the top player in sunflower oil category and announced launch of its new packs of Sweekar and Nature Fresh sunflower oil.

Neelima Burra, chief marketing officer at Cargill Foods India said, "The participation of housewives in cricket has increased since IPL started in India. Our association with RPS will help us create some high decibel energy in the market and revive our Sweekar and Nature Fresh brands."

The company plans to launch digital contests from April 10 through videos and YouTube for arranging interaction of consumers and retailers with the team based on themes such as which dish would women would like to serve the team.