Benihana Takes No. 1 Position on Brand Passion Index

MIAMI, Aug. 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Benihana Inc. (NASDAQ: BNHN), the nation's leading operator of Japanese theme and sushi restaurants, has taken the No. 1 position within the sushi category in Netbase Solutions Inc.'s annual brand passion index survey. The sushi study is a part of the larger survey, "What Women Want," analyzing the top 10 things women and men desire.

As a social intelligence company, Netbase Solutions Inc. monitors the Internet to determine customer likes and dislikes, opinions, preferences, behaviors and emotions through the use of its natural language processing technology. Over a one-year period, Netbase studied all online conversations within 27 billion social media sources that included the phrase, "I want ...."  After analyzing the most buzzed-about and most loved brands, Benihana surfaced as a clear fan favorite!

Benihana has generated 36 percent and 39 percent of women's and men's overall social media chatter, respectively. According to the survey, women love Benihana for its fun, family atmosphere and delicious sushi, earning Benihana a Net Sentiment of 83 and Passion Intensity of 62. Similarly, men have chosen Benihana for the quality of food and overall experience, giving Benihana a Net Sentiment of 76 and Passion Intensity of 70.

To find a Benihana location and make a reservation today, visit www.benihana.com.

For more information about Netbase Solutions Inc.'s brand passion index, visit www.netbase.com.

About Benihana

Headquartered in Miami, Benihana Inc. (NASDAQ GS: BNHN) is the nation's leading operator of Japanese theme and sushi restaurants with 95 restaurants nationwide, including 62 Benihana restaurants, eight Haru sushi restaurants and 25 RA Sushi restaurants. In addition, 16 franchised Benihana restaurants are operating in the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean. To learn more about Benihana Inc. and its three restaurant concepts, please view the corporate video at www.benihana.com/about/video. 

SOURCE Benihana Inc.

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