Middleby® Corporation is a global leader in food manufacturing, food preparation, commercial kitchen equipment, and high-end home appliances.
During the pandemic years of 2020–2023, Middleby® went into rapid acquisition mode, acquiring numerous companies to solidify its market share. This strategy secured their industry leadership but also created a new challenge:
How do you maintain brand consistency and clarity across dozens of acquired brands while reinforcing the Middleby® corporate brand as the unifying thread?
Having experienced exponential growth in recent years, Middley®’s website did not portray the vibe of its leader position in commercial foodservice equipment, residential kitchen equipment, and commercial food processing equipment.
Through a multi-tiered process, I led the design team through an iterative approach to elevating Middleby’s brand voice and vibe. I used my Vibe, Tribe, & Why® process with various C-suite leaders to capture and clarify the Middleby brand.
Establishing a Corporate Presence Amidst Fragmentation
Middleby®’s acquisition spree brought in a diverse array of brands, each with its own established market presence. While the growth strategy was successful, the brand ecosystem became increasingly fragmented.
For example, their Commercial Kitchen Equipment Division was now home to several multimillion-dollar brands, each operating under different names, with different marketing strategies, and different interpretations of what “Middleby®” even meant.
Vibe Clarity:
Defining Key Audiences at Multiple Levels
The Tribe session was where we had to go deeper than usual.
Instead of a single audience, we were dealing with:
Tribe Clarity:
The Central Purpose Behind Every Brand
In the Vibe, Tribe, & Why® sessions, the Why was the most straightforward to define but the hardest to align around.
Each division had its own reason for being, but Middleby®’s Why had to unite them all under one banner:
Middleby® exists to elevate every aspect of food preparation—from industrial manufacturing to luxury home kitchens, with precision, quality, and global expertise.
This became the rallying cry that unified not only the divisions but also the acquired brands, each of which now had a clear reason to exist under the Middleby® banner.
The Transformation: A Framework for Clarity Across a Global Portfolio
The impact of Vibe, Tribe, & Why® at Middleby® was felt across every level of the organization:
Corporate Alignment
Middleby® Corporate now had a centralized brand story that clearly communicated its vision, purpose, and authority in the global market.
Brand Experience Guides™ for Every Division
We delivered a tailored Brand Experience Guide that included specific Ideal Customer Profiles (ICPs), messaging frameworks, and alignment strategies.
This became the playbook for how acquired brands would integrate into the Middleby® portfolio.
Application Across Global Brands
In the Commercial Kitchen Equipment Division, we worked directly with several multi-million-dollar brands to implement Vibe, Tribe, & Why principles into their messaging, ensuring each spoke the same brand language while retaining its distinct voice.
Scalable Framework for New Acquisitions
The Brand Experience Guide became a scalable tool, enabling Middleby® to extend the Vibe, Tribe, & Why framework to future acquisitions.
New brands can now be onboarded with clarity, aligning with Middleby®’s central ‘Why’ without losing their unique identities.
Ongoing Impact: A Living Framework
The work we began with Middleby® continues to this day.
The Vibe, Tribe, & Why® framework has become a living framework, adapted not just for existing divisions but also as a strategic asset during the M&A process.
Now, when Middleby® acquires a new brand, it’s not just absorbing assets and IP, it’s bringing that brand into a clearly defined ecosystem, where everyone understands:
