Milk, money and sixes: Amul and Nandini eye RCB during IPL 2026

BENGALURU: From breakfast tables to boundary ropes, India’s milk war is getting frothy. Fresh off their IPL 2025 triumph, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) are set to become the hottest property in town — and the prize cow in a high-stakes sponsorship tussle between Amul and Nandini ahead of the 2026 season.

According to Moneycontrol, the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF), which sells dairy under the Nandini brand, is exploring a title sponsorship and partnership with RCB for IPL 2026, taking direct aim at rival Amul, which was associated with the franchise last season. Call it full-cream competition.

KMF has floated a tender to appoint an IPL-authorised agency to broker Nandini’s entry as an official RCB partner. The shopping list is lavish: use of the RCB name, logo and trademarks on packaging, advertising and public relations campaigns through the IPL window. Stadium kiosks at RCB’s home games are also on the menu, turning matchdays into milk runs.
Digital is central to the churn. Nandini plans to milk RCB’s players and logo across Instagram, X and Facebook, backed by outdoor hoardings and large-format media. KMF managing director B Shivaswamy, believes the  logic is local and emotional: RCB represents Karnataka. He added that KMF is keen to rope in Virat Kohli and two other RCB players for promotional campaigns.

The bigger ambition is national. The IPL’s megaphone will be used to push Nandini deeper into Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Mumbai, markets where Amul has long enjoyed pole position. An additional tender for digital gantry advertising at Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru, underlines the federation’s intent to blanket eyeballs, from arrivals halls to boundary lines.

KMF has been steadily bulking up its sports-marketing muscle. It sponsored Scotland and Ireland at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, and has tied up with teams in the Pro Kabaddi League and the Indian Super League. Cricket, though, remains the fattest cow.

The dairy duel has political undertones too. Ahead of the 2023 Karnataka elections, Amul’s entry into Bengaluru sparked a storm, with fears it would dent the local cooperative and its army of farmers. KMF, which counts 24 lakh milk producers, procures 8.4 million litres daily and reported a turnover of nearly Rs 19,800 crore in 2021–22, is not short of heft. Amul, however, remains the heavyweight, clocking a provisional Rs 55,055 crore in 2022–23.

RCB, meanwhile, can sit back and enjoy the bidding war. When milk brands start throwing elbows over a cricket team, you know the IPL has truly entered its richest innings. The cows are restless — and the stakes are rising.