Vilnius Rytas officially began its partnership with iLunch, a daily lunch restaurant concept in Lithuania, on February 1st. This partnership unites two crucial areas: professional sports and balanced nutrition. The collaboration encompasses not only the capital’s main representative team but also places significant emphasis on the younger generation of basketball players.
iLunch has become a sponsor of the Vilnius Rytas youth team. The daily lunch restaurant chain’s logo already adorns the jerseys of the basketball players competing in the URBO-NKL league. This investment in the younger generation is already yielding results – this season, the team triumphed in two prestigious tournaments.
According to Martynas Giga, CEO of Rytas, professional sports are inseparable from discipline, not only on the court but also on the plate.
It is important for our organization to have reliable partners who understand the dynamics of professional sports. Today, Rytas is more than a basketball team – it’s a huge community that values quality in all areas, including a healthy lifestyle. We are delighted that our collaboration with iLunch allows us to ensure better conditions for our athletes and offer additional value to our fans, says Martynas Giga.
Donatas Vaitasius, Executive Director of iLunch, emphasizes that contributing to the growth of the Vilnius basketball community was a natural and value-driven decision.
We see great meaning in this collaboration. It allows us to combine two important aspects – youth physical activity and the formation of daily eating habits. We prepare fresh daily lunches every day, so we clearly see the important place lunch holds in a balanced daily diet, especially for young athletes. We believe that the growing generation is shaped not only on the sports court but also through daily choices and habits, so we aim to be part of this process so that an active lifestyle from a young age is associated with quality, freshly prepared food every day – that’s what the iLunch restaurant concept is all about, says Donatas Vaitasius.
The partnership includes not only team support but also a broader connection with the basketball community. iLunch regularly organizes contests on its social media channels, where fans can win tickets to Vilnius Rytas home games held at the Active Vilnius and Arena Vilnius arenas.
This collaboration marks a purposeful step towards strengthening the connection between sports, healthy living, and daily dietary choices.