The National Restaurant Association and Nation’s Restaurant News announced Friday that they are in final negotiations for an exclusive multiyear strategic partnership.
The National Restaurant Association, or NRA, will leverage the multimedia expertise of Nation’s Restaurant News, or NRN, to create and distribute new NRA-branded print and online information materials, officials for both organizations said. The agreement will also allow NRN to expand the reach of its flagship magazine, industry-leading website and portfolio of e-newsletters to the NRA’s members and stakeholders.
Making the announcement at the association’s board meeting in Chicago, NRA chief executive Dawn Sweeney said the partnership will allow the restaurant association and NRN to further use their collective industry knowledge, infrastructure and relationships to produce an unprecedented media and advocacy resource.
“I’m very pleased to announce the final stages of this significant new partnership with Nation’s Restaurant News, the industry’s foremost media source,” Sweeney said. “Beginning in June with NRN’s Show Wrap-up edition, NRA-generated news and information will be featured prominently in Nation’s Restaurant News. Together, we’ll be able to reach hundreds of thousands of additional industry professionals to tell them the NRA story and the benefits of membership.
“And, if all goes according to projections, we anticipate significant additional revenue within the next two years alone," she added. "We’ll also be looking at other ways to generate more revenue-generating opportunities as we grow together.”
NRN also is eager to develop new ideas and opportunities to engage and inform foodservice operators and executives over the long term, said publisher Randall Friedman.
“NRN is looking forward to formalizing our long-standing relationship with the NRA and strengthening our ability to serve its members,” Friedman said. “This partnership will introduce NRN to new audiences and extend our lead as the No. 1 source of business intelligence for the foodservice industry.”
Founded in 1919, the NRA is the largest business association for the foodservice industry, which comprises 945,000 restaurants and foodservice outlets and employs about 13 million people in the United States.
For more than 40 years, Nation’s Restaurant News, a division of New York based Lebhar-Friedman Inc., has supplied foodservice operators’ and suppliers’ demand for information and insight through its magazine, website and events.
Contact Mark Brandau at [email protected].