With a bid to popularize sunflower oil in the Indian marketplace, US-based agri-food major Cargill Foods India, owner of brands like Gemini and Sweekar sunflower oil, has signed up to be the principal sponsor of the M S Dhoni-led IPL cricket team Rising Pune Supergiants.

For Cargill, which is present in the consumer space in only three countries – India, Brazil and Venezuela - this is its first ever association with sports.

“IPL is the biggest cricketing event in the country, and we are pleased to associate with Rising Pune Supergiants as its official healthy cooking oil partner,” the company’s CMO, Neelima Burra said. The Gemini logo will be seen on the leading side of the players’ caps and helmets.

Cargill, also has just announced the launch of new packs of Nature Fresh Actilite low-fat cooking sunflower oil and Sweekar sunflower oil, which will be available in the markets from this month.

“The last five years have seen viewership of cricket by housewives increasing, and now around 30% of women watch cricket,” Burra explained. The decision to sponsor the team was based on the fact that while the four states of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka account for India’s sunflower oil belt, Cargill’s share in the Pune market is the highest in the country at over 70%. Cargill’s aim is to be the No 1 player in the sunflower oil category in the country.

For the RP-Sanjiv Goenka owned Pune Supergiants, this is the second major sponsorship following Marriott International’s announcement last week. A few more announcements are in the pipeline, CEO Raghu Iyer said.

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