Fast-growing cereal bar brand Nature Valley is set to give Cadbury a run for its money as the snack of choice for next year’s London Olympics.

The General Mills brand has signed a deal this week to become the official ­cereal snack bar supplier to the 2012 Games.

The tier three sponsorship, which also extends to Team GB and Paralympics GB, is the biggest-ever investment for the brand in the UK. A spokesman for the Games’ organisers, LOCOG, confirmed that tier three deals are worth around £10m, while tier two sponsors such as Cadbury are understood to be forking out ­between £20m and £40m.

General Mills said the tie-up would boost consumer awareness the official London 2012 supplier logo will appear on-pack over the coming months and deliver increased demand.

Major marketing activity is set to run in the build-up to the event and the sponsorship will also be supported by significant activity with retailers. The brand will have exclusive rights in the cereal sector to use Team GB branding.

“Globally, Nature Valley is a £1bn business, but in the UK, despite its success and popularity with people who try the product, it still has relatively low awareness levels,” said Graham White, marketing manager for Nature Valley, which has grown UK sales by 50% in the past two years. “This is a chance for us to take it to a new league.”

In a similar move in July, confectionery supplier Zetar became a tier three sponsor, selling official Olympic-branded biscuits and nuts.

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