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FastCasual.com accepting nominations for Top 100 Movers & Shakers

The nomination and judging process have changed. Brands must nominate themselves, and a consumer poll is a new component.

January 5, 2016

FastCasual.com is taking nominations for its annual list of Top 100 Movers & Shakers, which honors the brands and executives leading the fast casual restaurant industry, said Cherryh Cansler, managing editor of food/retail publications for Networld Media Group, the parent company of FastCasual.com

"This 'who's hot list' recognizes growth and sales accomplishments and also honors trendsetters and brands that incorporate technology to enhance the customer experience, according to Cansler, who noted this year’s nomination and judging process are a bitdifferent from past years.

"We used to allow anyone to just nominate their favorite brands, but this year we are asking brands to nominate themselves by answering a few questions about their businesses in order to help us narrow down the list," she said.

A second set of questions will ask people to nominate the executives they believe best represent the industry. People may nominate themselves or their colleagues, Cansler said.

Another first this year is that editors will take into account consumers' opinions when choosing the final brands.

"We're getting consumers involved in this year's selection process by conducting a consumer poll asking customers to rank their top fast casual preferences," she said. "We’ll combine the consumer results with the nominations to choose 75 brands and 25 industry executives to round out the Top 100." As in past years, the results will be revealed at an annual awards gala in May in Chicago during the NRA show.

The consumer poll will be conducted via SurveyMonkey and will poll 500 consumers.

Entries will be accepted until midnight ET Feb. 1, and there is no fee to enter. Click here to enter.