We have you covered on things overheard from the show floor at this year's NRA Show and International Wine, Spirits & Beer Event.
Restaurant and hospitality industry operators consistently reported NRA Show 2009 was the place to find solutions and inspiration in this economy.
- "This is the place to come and see everything in one shot.” -Robert Forrester, Restaurant Industry Solutions
- “I’ve already found some ideas that I’m going to take back and take a very serious look at.”
- Kim Lopdrup, Red Lobster - “When you come here, you come to be inspired.” -George McNeill, Ritz Carlton Hotels
- “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.
- “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
- “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 also said the quality of attendance was extremely high.
- “The NRA Show is the best show in our industry.” -Dean Landeche, vice president of marketing, Manitowoc
- “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
- "We had a constant stream of traffic consisting of distributors, foodservice operators and end-users that really enjoyed our concept and finished product. The [NRA] show exceeded our expectations with regards to meaningful contacts and demand creation prospects." -Tim Young, vice president of marketing, Popcake
- “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
- “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
The NRA Show celebrated its 90th anniversary show which provided "the positive jolt in the arm" needed for restaurant & foodservice professionals from all 50 states and around the world.
Congratulations & see you next year (May 22-25)!
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