Penton's Multi-Unit Foodservice Operators Conference (MUFSO) Holds its 52nd Show

NEW YORK, Oct. 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Dan Bagan, senior vice president of Penton Media, and a member of the Penton Executive Committee, announced today that the recent Multi-Unit Foodservice Operators Conference, or MUFSO, increased its attendance by 25 percent and its number of exhibitors by 46 percent.  MUFSO, a Nation's Restaurant News event, is the premier foodservice trade show, gathering the leading business minds in the industry.  The event was held September 25-27 in Grapevine, Texas.

"This is the highest number of attendees MUFSO has seen in over 10 years," said Bagan. "Annually, the show attracts the top 400 chain restaurant and emerging growth companies from the QSR, casual, family, on-site and high volume independent segments."

This year's theme was "Where Do We Grow from Here?," and provided education and networking opportunities that addressed avenues of growth, increasing customer frequency and loyalty, leveraging day-parts and creating a better "to go/curbside pick-up" strategy.  Those in attendance included CEOs, presidents, VPs, and director-level executives from operations, marketing, finance, franchising, purchasing, human resources/training and culinary disciplines.  Over 100 CEOs were in attendance, including the chiefs of Panera Bread, Domino's Pizza, Chili's, Buffalo Wild Wings, Pizza Hut, P.F. Chang's and Sodexho Campus Dining.

Key exhibitors included The Coca-Cola Company, DirecTV, Ecolab, LivingSocial, Manitowoc Foodservice, McLane, Proctor & Gamble, Tabasco and The Beef Checkoff.

The Penton Restaurant Group co-located two other events with MUFSO – Menu Trends & Directions and FM Ideas – that collectively attracted another 200 restaurant operators, mostly R&D chefs and non-commercial operators.  "In 2012 we are going to integrate the three events into one supershow," said Randall Friedman, Group Publisher of the Penton Restaurant Group.  "All the segments of our great industry want to learn from each other, and MUFSO will be the place where all the influencers of the foodservice industry can gather."  

About Nation's Restaurant News

For the latest news, competitive intelligence and professional networking for key decision-makers in the foodservice industry, visit www.NRN.com, the digital source with the largest team of industry expert writers covering timely news that impacts restaurant operators' businesses and in-depth analysis of industry changes.  Penton acquired Nation's Restaurant News in December, 2010, leading to the creation of the Penton Restaurant Group, which also includes Restaurant Hospitality and Food Management.

About Penton

Penton knows business and how to create and disseminate the vital content that moves markets. Penton is where professionals turn to gain the critical insight, expert analysis, and relevant connections needed to compete and succeed. Headquartered in New York City, the privately held company is owned by MidOcean Partners and U.S. Equity Partners II, an investment fund sponsored by Wasserstein & Co., LP, and its co-investors. For additional information on the company and its businesses, visit www.penton.com.

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SOURCE Penton