MU-nching on Mister Potato at Old Trafford

MANCHESTER: Malaysian brand Mister Potato has “scored big” at Old Trafford, Manchester United's homeground.

The popular snack will now be seen on the digital boards at the football club's Premier League matches at the stadium following the signing of a new sponsorship deal yesterday. The sponsorship was launched by United manager Sir Alex Fergusonand Mamee-Double Decker chief executive officer Datuk Pang Tee Chew before invited guests and media at Old Trafford.

Official snack: MU players posing with Mister Potato jerseys at Old Trafford over the weekend.

“As a global snack partner of Manchester United, we are able to provide the opportunity for Malaysian fans to have the Ultimate Man Utd Experience' by giving them the opportunity to watch matches live at Old Trafford, a chance to win officially signed merchandise and potentially meet their favourite players or legends,'' Pang said.

“We will also be able to bring Manchester United legends to Malaysia to meet fans who are not able to travel to England. “Our initial sponsorship with MU is three years but we intend to extend the deal,” he added. Pang said Mamee was confident of a huge increase in its exports and market share with the Mister Potato packaging carrying images of MU stars such as Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs and Park Ji-sung.

The company, which had a turnover of RM483.8mil last year, is investing RM130mil to expand its production capacity. It owns more than 30% of the snack food business volume in Malaysia with Mister Potato being the No. 1 potato snack brand, which is exported to 80 countries. The sponsorship deal is expected to cost Mamee about RM10mil annually, with the club's executives visiting Mamee's Malacca plant to ensure the company was the right fit for it.

Ferguson provided further cheer for Malaysia when he said the country would be a “priority stopover” for MU's Far East tour next summer. “Malaysia is top of the list because we know the amazing support we have there,'' he said, adding that he was pleased that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, an MU fan, had visited Old Trafford last season.

-thestar online.