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| Friday, May 22, 2009 | 09:46 |
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Company News
2009 National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show Provides Springboard for Restaurant Industry Recovery
Show delivered a high-impact,"positive jolt" to energize the industry
Celebrating its 90th anniversary in 2009, the National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show provided a high-energy forum where tens of thousands of restaurant and hospitality operators from all fifty states and around the world connected with exhibiting companies to find solutions to boost business. NRA Show 2009 – the largest restaurant show in the Western Hemisphere – and the International Wine, Spirits & Beer Event (IWSB) were blockbuster events, each delivering a high-impact, positive jolt to energize the industry. The NRA Show and IWSB provided operators from across all industry segments with a stream of innovative products, services and ideas to help them improve their business as the economy heads toward recovery. The NRA Show was held May 16-19 at McCormick Place in Chicago.
“NRA Show 2009 was a great success and in many ways an industry tipping point. We have received incredibly positive feedback from both exhibiting companies and attendees from around the world,” said Lorna Donatone, Convention Chair for NRA Show 2009 and President of School Services at Sodexo Inc. “Exhibitors found the exhibit floor filled with power buyers from all segments of the industry exploring the most innovative products and services on the market in every aisle. The Show also featured star-power including top restaurateurs, celebrity chefs and leading trend-setters in the culinary and educational programming, adding to the exciting and lively atmosphere. Operators are returning home energized and optimistic and ready to put new products, ideas and contacts to work.”
Restaurant and hospitality industry operators in attendance consistently reported that NRA Show 2009 was the place to find solutions and inspiration in this economic environment.
“Now more than ever is the time to get busy on our business. We can't shut our doors. At this point, it’s all about the competition and staying ahead and this [the NRA Show] is a great resource.”
-David Starr, operating vice president of restaurants, Bloomingdale's.
“Look at this, it's great! Even in this ‘recession,’ this place is doing well. It's good to see this many people at this year’s NRA Show.”
-Ming Tsai, chef/owner of Blue Ginger in Wellesley, Mass.
“Within the restaurant industry, it is about creating brand differentiation for your customers. In other words, what will make your restaurant and brand stand out from the competition. The National Restaurant Association show provided this year’s attendees with strategic insights into achieving that brand differentiation - a critical must-have in today’s environment.”
- Bill Whitman, Jr., vice president of communications, McDonald’s USA.
Exhibiting companies reported that the quality of attendance was extremely high.
“Operators are well aware of our core product offerings, but we need the trade show environment like the National Restaurant Association show because this show is the largest restaurant and foodservice show, and it consistently delivers the broadest range of high quality buyers.”
-Ben Middleton, trade communications manager, Coca-Cola North America.
“We’ve gotten more leads. We’ve actually doubled the amount of leads this year than we had last year.”
-Brent Mague, director of marketing, Rubbermaid Foodservice.
“The NRA Show is unbelievable; this is the place to meet serious decision-makers. The contacts we wanted and needed to meet are here. This show is going to put [us]on the map.”
-Greg Grunberg, visionary & chief executive of Yowza!!, a first-time exhibitor and star of NBC’s Heroes television show and the recently released Star Trek movie.
“The NRA Show is the best show in our industry.”
-Dean Landeche, vice president of marketing, Manitowoc.
“I encourage small and big alcohol producers to exhibit at IWSB, come prepared and expect lots of large volume buyers. This is the best place to meet face to face with leading on-premise buyers.”
-Kent Fleischmann, owner, Dry Fly Distilling, an IWSB exhibitor.
This year's NRA Show featured more country pavilions than ever before including Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Japan, Korean, New Zealand, Spain, Taiwan and Thailand. Globalization will remain critical as exhibitors seek to export from the U.S., distributors and operators from across the country look to import into the U.S., and the NRA Show will continue to engage the industry and evolve to meet its needs.
“The NRA Show has provided the most valuable opportunity to interact with all aspects of the foodservice industry in the U.S. and has helped us position the Canadian beef advantage successfully.”
-Marty Carpenter, director U.S. market development, Beef Information Centre of Canada.
NRA Show 2009 and IWSB attracted 54,000 industry professionals, including power-buyers and suppliers from all segments of the restaurant and hospitality industry. Held in conjunction with the NRA Show, IWSB boasted a 13 percent increase in attendance over last year with nearly 3,000 qualified buyers browsing hundreds of brands and labels May 17-18.
The NRA Show Web site features highlights of this year’s event, including video, photos and speaker presentations. In addition, Floored!, the official blog of NRA Show 2009 and IWSB, recaps highlights and will be continually updated after the event. The NRA Show is also on http://twitter.com/nrashow09to provide post-show updates.
The annual National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show is the largest single gathering of restaurant, foodservice and lodging professionals. NRA Show 2010 will be held May 22-25, at McCormick Place in Chicago. The event attracts attendees and visitors from all 50 states and 100+ countries, and showcases more products, services, innovative ideas and other growth opportunities than any other industry event. For more information, visit the Show Web site at www.restaurant.org/show.
Contact
| E-mail: media@dineout.org |
| Web: http://www.restaurant.org |
| Company: National Restaurant Association |
| Address: 1200 17th St., NW - 20036 Washington DC |
| Country: UNITED STATES |
| Phone: +1 (202)-973-3677 |
| Fax: +1 (202)-973-3961 |
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