The following is a Media Release from New Zealand Rugby.
All Blacks Partner with Gatorade and Join Global Elite.
The world’s number one sports drink is partnering with the world’s premier rugby team, the All Blacks, in a new five year partnership announced by New Zealand Rugby (NZR) and Gatorade today.
NZ Rugby said Gatorade, the world’s leading sports drink, provided a great fit. “We were looking for an instantly recognizable, global brand with the scale to help us increase the profile of the New Zealand game and our teams overseas so a partnership with Gatorade made sense on many levels,” said NZR Chief Executive Steve Tew.
“Gatorade is the perfect fit for a dynamic, endurance-based sport like rugby – the strength of the brand is backed by 50 years of science, research and development – and it’s widely used by many of the world’s elite athletes and teams.”
As well as providing highly effective hydration, the partnership with Gatorade will give access to the Gatorade Sports Science Institute (GSSI), the research and development arm of Gatorade. GSSI is committed to helping athletes optimise their health and performance through research and education in hydration and nutrition science.
“We’re looking forward to working with GSSI,” said Tew. “We’re always searching for ways to lift our performance as we strive for excellence. NZR and Gatorade share a goal of driving elite performance and innovation so we see this partnership as being a great help to our players and teams.”
Anuj Bhasin, Head of Global Gatorade, said; “Our goal is to support New Zealand’s rugby players and teams by providing the most scientifically researched and game-tested sports drink and top-quality athlete service to help improve on-field performances. “Gatorade is the official sports fuel supplier for many leading teams and top international athletes. Sportspeople have used the GSSI’s research facilities and we look forward to sharing those benefits with New Zealand’s rugby elite as they join the Gatorade family.”
The new partnership will make Gatorade the Official Hydration Partner of the All Blacks and NZR’s other national teams – the Maori All Blacks, All Blacks Sevens, New Zealand Women’s Sevens, Black Ferns and New Zealand Under 20 until 2021, a period featuring major national sporting events both overseas and in New Zealand.
In New Zealand, Gatorade is made and marketed by Frucor Beverages in South Auckland, under licence from the brand owners, PepsiCo Inc.
About Gatorade
The Gatorade Company, a division of PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP), provides sports performance innovations designed to meet the needs of athletes at all competitive levels and across a broad range of sports. Backed by more than a 40 year history of studying the best athletes in the world and grounded in years of hydration and sports nutrition research at the Gatorade Sports Science Institute, Gatorade provides scientifically formulated products to meet the sports fuelling needs of athletes in all phases of athletic activity.
About Gatorade Sports Science Institute (GSSI)
The GSSI is committed to helping athletes optimize their health and performance through research and education in hydration and nutrition science. GSSI’s headquarter lab, mobile and satellite laboratories, and on the field testing enable GSSI to conduct athlete service and/or research with the aim to provide athletes with advice and products that help their performance and achieve their goals.
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The New Zealand All Blacks join other elite sports franchises under the sponsorship-umbrella of Gatorade. This includes the NBA, NFL and major International sports teams where Gatorade has long standing relationships. It will see the All Blacks featured alongside global sports stars Gatorade sponsors such as Usain Bolt, Serena Williams and Michael Jordan.
The above media release was courtesy of New Zealand Rugby.
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