(Yicai) Sept. 18 -- Some 176 companies will be sponsoring the 19th Asian Games, which will kick off in Hangzhou on Sept. 23.

There are four types of sponsors for the Asian Games, official partners, official sponsors, official exclusive suppliers, and official non-exclusive suppliers, according to the sports event's official website.

The Hangzhou Asian Games will officially open on Sept. 23 and last till Oct. 8, but some matches, such as soccer, volleyball, beach volleyball, and cricket, will already start tomorrow. Meanwhile, China's National Day holiday will run from Sept. 29 to Oct. 6.

Hangzhou coffee brand Tasogare is one of the Asian Games' official exclusive suppliers. Tasogare told Yicai that the event's organizing committee had set strict requirements, including having third parties test its coffee products.

Of the other Hangzhou-based sponsors of the Asian Games, bottled water giant Wahaha Group will be the official non-alcoholic beverage sponsor of the Asian Games, responsible for guaranteeing the drinking water needs of the entire event, Zhejiang Loong Airlines will be the official air passenger service partner, and Dian Diagnostics Group will be the official health testing service provider.

Beijing-based China Resources Beer Holdings will be a non-exclusive supplier for the Asian Games. CR Beer opened nearly 10,000 brand stores in Zhejiang province, of which Hangzhou is the capital city, to meet consumers' beer consumption needs, the company told Yicai.

YTO Express Group, headquartered in Hangzhou's neighboring city of Shanghai, will be the Asian Games' official logistics service provider, becoming the first Chinese express delivery company to win a bid for the Asian Games' logistics services.

Yum China Holdings, a Shanghai-based restaurant company that operates Kentucky Fried Chicken and Pizza Hut stores in China, will be the exclusive Western catering service provider for the Asian Games.

Chinese dairy producer Yili Industrial Group will be the exclusive supplier of dairy products for the Asian Games. The Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region-based firm has invested heavily in marketing in the Football World Cup, Olympics, and Asian Games.

Dairy companies have always taken sports as a key marketing direction through which they achieved success, Song Liang, a dairy industry analyst, told Yicai. Autumn and winter are the traditional peak seasons for dairy product sales, and sports event marketing helps dairy companies maintain their market advantages, he noted.

Yili hopes to expand its brand influence in Asian markets, such as Southeast Asia, through the Asian Games. With the intensified domestic competition, Chinese dairy companies have turned their attention to the Southeast Asian market, which has a population of 600 million people and strong dairy product consumption.

Editor: Futura Costaglione