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This Week in Sponsorship is Scout’s weekly wrap up of the latest deals in Australian sponsorship with a special focus on the Deal of the Week. Check out previous articles, or sign up if you were forwarded this email.

The need to know:

• Deal of the Week: 👕 Athletes Nutrition has re-signed with the Manly Sea Eagles, fuelling the team with meals designed to optimise player performance, helping make Food Delivery one of the fastest-growing categories in the last 12 months. (read the detailed analysis below)

• 🏉 SMARTECH Business Systems is now the official naming rights partner for the SMARTECH Super Rugby Pacific and Super Rugby Women's competitions for 2025.

• 👕 Penrith Panthers announced Picklebet as their Official Wagering Partner in a four-year deal, focusing on fan engagement and digital innovation in sports betting.

• 🎽 West Coast Eagles signed MyPlace by Advantage Air as a new Platinum Partner.

• 🏏 Cricket Australia extended their partnership with Gatorade for another two years, continuing to fuel Australian players during summer drinks breaks.

• ⚽ Ford New Zealand renewed their partnership with New Zealand Football, continuing their involvement with the Ford Football Ferns, Ford Women in Leadership program, and now the Ford Futsal Ferns.

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19th Feb 2025

Deal of the week

Athletes Nutrition x Manly Sea Eagles

Key insights:

• While a relatively small category (less tha n 0.5% of all sponsorship spend), Food Delivery has grown more than 50% in the last 12 months.

• Growth has been driven by leading brand Lite n’ Easy, now sponsoring 10 clubs, with a heavy presence in NSW and Rugby League.

• Athletes Nutrition’s Manly partnership allows it to compete with Lite n’ Easy in those strongholds.

• Other brands are exploiting sports and States free from competitors to grow their share of sponsorship in the category.

Dashboard platform access to the Food Delivery category is now available for Scout Pro subscribers for the next 5 days.

Read the full feature analysis below.

Brand: Athletes Nutrition

HQ: Sydney

Deal type: Renewal

Athletes Nutrition has re-signed with the Manly Sea Eagles, fuelling the team with meals designed to optimise player performance. Like others in the category, the partnership leverages the natural alignment between nutrition and sport.

While a relatively small category (less than 0.5% of all sponsorship spend), it has grown more than 50% in the last 12 months. Growth has been driven by leading brand Lite n’ Easy, now sponsoring 10 clubs, with many across both their Men’s and Women’s teams.

Lite n’ Easy now has multiple footholds across NSW, VIC and QLD, spanning AFL, NRL, BBL and NBL.

Athletes Nutrition has doubled down on Rugby League and NSW, where it can compete next to Lite n Easy and other rival brands.

Other, typically more localised Meal Delivery brands have used partnerships to enter environments free of competitors. For example, GMD sponsors three of the Canberra teams, while Bowlsome is the only sponsor in SA with the Strikers.

WA and Super Netball both remain untapped markets – a competitive advantage for the West Coast Fever in enabling a brand to take share of sponsorship in both.

Note that prior to 2023, Food Delivery partnerships were dominated by Doordash (NRL, Melbourne United) and Jimmy Brings (Waratahs, Kangaroos). The emergence of more health-focused Food Delivery brands represents a more health-conscious consumer than the post-pandemic era.

Notable deals of the week

NEW

🏉 SMARTECH Business Systems is now the official naming rights partner for the SMARTECH Super Rugby Pacific and Super Rugby Women's competitions for 2025.

🏉 Auckland Blues have partnered with MG Motor New Zealand as their official vehicle supplier.

🏉 Auckland Blues also welcome Gerard Roofs NZ as a new partner.

🏉 Wellington Hurricanes signed Clean Collective Ltd as the official RTD (Ready-to-Drink) partner for 2025.

🏉 ACT Brumbies entered a multi-year partnership with EPC Solar, a renewable energy business.

🏉 NSW Waratahs have teamed up with Hawke's Brewing Co. as their Official Beer Partner for 2025.

👕 Witzer secured the naming rights for the NRL Pre-Season Challenge.

👕 Penrith Panthers announced Picklebet as their Official Wagering Partner in a four-year deal, focusing on fan engagement and digital innovation in sports betting.

👕 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs have partnered with Kumho Tyre as their Official NRL Men’s Head Coach Partner and Official Tyre Partner.

👕 Cronulla Sharks signed Shine Drinks as their official Hydration Partner for 2025.

🎽 West Coast Eagles signed MyPlace by Advantage Air as a new Platinum Partner.

⚽ Adelaide United have partnered with cybersecurity firm TeamViewer for 2025.

⚽ Adelaide United also signed Thirteen Commercial Cleaning as their Official Cleaning Partner, with the director of the company, Frank Tsianos, joining as an official member.

⚽ Newcastle Jets have Hoplite as their Official Academy Partner for the 2025 season.

⚽ Perth Glory signed In Awe as their A-Leagues Women's skincare partner for the remainder of the current season and the 2025/26 season.

🏀 Brisbane Bullets entered a partnership with Aussie Athlete Fund.

🏎️ Bailey Ladders joined the sport as the Official Ladder and Fall Protection Partner of the Supercars Championship, following their recent partnership with Melbourne Storm.

🏎️ Blanchard Racing Team partnered with Super Spill Solutions for the 2025 season.

🏑 Hockey Australia signed a partnership with Everclime to help implement their Climate Sustainability Strategy.

🎾 Squash Australia partnered with BIG Outdoor ANZ as a major partner of the 2025 Easy Times Brewing Co. Squash Australian Open.

⛳ Ripper GC became the principal partner of Golf Australia’s MyGolf program, focusing on inspiring and developing the next generation of Australian golfers over the next three years.

RENEWALS

🏏 Cricket Australia extended their partnership with Gatorade for another two years, continuing to fuel Australian players during summer drinks breaks.

🎽 Brisbane Lions renewed their partnership with Tyrepower for three more seasons.

🎽 Western Bulldogs welcomed Kapitol Group as a Platinum partner.

🎽 Western Bulldogs extended their partnership with Mars Wrigley for three years, keeping Mars Stadium named until 2027.

👕 Newcastle Knights renewed their partnership with Red Energy for their 10th year as a Platinum Partner.

👕 Parramatta Eels extended their partnership with Jawa Offroad Campers as the Official Head Coach Partner for the 2025 season.

👕 Manly Sea-Eagles have two new partnerships: Aspen Pharmacare Australia as a Senior Partner and Athletes Nutrition to provide fresh, nutrient-packed meals for players.

👕 Gold Coast Titans extended partnerships with high-performance partners 2XU, Qscan Group, Elastoplast Australia & New Zealand, and Alpha Sport.

⚽ Ford New Zealand renewed their partnership with New Zealand Football, continuing their involvement with the Ford Football Ferns, Ford Women in Leadership program, and now the Ford Futsal Ferns.

🏉 Queensland Rugby Union and the Queensland Reds extended their partnership with Veo Technologies, supplying high-quality video cameras for their programs from professional to grassroots levels.

🏀 Macca’s continued their partnership with the UC Capitals through the 2024/25 season.

🏎️ Hino renewed their Supercars partnership, now extending it through 2027.

🏎️ Penrite Racing renewed their partnership with Apex Steel Group.

🏎️ Blanchard Racing Team renewed their partnership with LIQUI MOLY for the 2025 Supercars Championship.

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