Redefining Rome: A Growth Journey
Fueled by Strategy, Storytelling, and
Sales Enablement
Rome Grinding Solutions
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“Looking back at everything we’ve done, the outcome has absolutely revolutionized this business. This entire process has got the whole company saying, we can do whatever the hell we want to do. The sky is the limit.”
-Kate Rome, Chief Executive Officer
How a bold rebrand, digital overhaul, and sales transformation helped Rome Grinding Solutions shift from uncertainty to unstoppable momentum.
The Challenge: A Defining Moment for a Legacy Brand
In 2022, Rome Grinding Solutions, a fourth-generation, family-owned manufacturer of industrial food grinding equipment, faced a period of uncertainty. The departure of the Director of Marketing and Business Development coincided with the loss of a beloved matriarch who had shaped much of the company’s internal culture.
At the same time, the company was feeling the pressure of outside speculation, as competitors and private equity firms began circling, assuming Rome was ready to sell. Internally, morale was low and the brand lacked a cohesive direction—externally and operationally.
Led by CEO, Kate Rome, the company wasn’t ready to back down–it wanted to double down.
The Approach: A Strategic Growth Partner with a Holistic Plan
Rome’s leadership turned to Red Caffeine, a growth consultancy known for its ability to embed with client teams and deliver integrated marketing, sales, and brand strategy. The engagement began with a deep-dive discovery process and evolved into a full-scale Grow-to-Market™ plan—a custom strategy designed to define, modernize, and activate the Rome brand both internally and externally.
Red Caffeine’s team of strategists, creatives, technologists, and sales enablement experts became a true extension of Rome’s staff, providing ongoing guidance and execution over the course of two years.
The Solution: Rebuilding the Rome Brand from the Inside Out
1. Brand Strategy & Employer Identity
Red Caffeine worked closely with Rome’s leadership team, interviewing its customers, and its employees to gather insights from each stakeholder group and uncover their motivations as well as the company’s differentiators, and opportunities for growth. Together, they developed:
- A customer-facing value proposition statement:
“Making Food Production As Safe As Possible. For Our Family And Yours.” - An employer brand message for talent acquisition:
“Support Your Family. Grow In Your Career. Build Something That Lasts.”
“All of that matters. It makes us who we are. We’re a family that cares about the families sitting around the dinner table eating the hamburgers, chicken nuggets, sausage, or seafood they buy from our customers. Those authentic, Midwestern family values are the reason we prioritize safety and innovation that keeps our custom.”
-Kate Rome, Chief Executive Officer
These messages didn’t just shape marketing, sales, and recruitment—they reshaped company culture. Employees in every department began to rally around a shared purpose, increasing pride and alignment across the organization.
2. Digital Transformation
Rome’s outdated website was reimagined and redesigned with a new digital experience aimed at simplifying the buyer journey and showcasing the company’s strengths. New features included:
- A product comparison tool (The Grinder Finder) matching customer needs with equipment capabilities and capacities
- An AI-powered chatbot for real-time support
- High-impact photography highlighting real employees and equipment in action
“Knowing a company’s website creates a lasting impression, we wanted to get it right. It had to look, sound, and feel authentic, while also serving our customers and setting our sales team up for success.”
-Kate Rome, Chief Executive Officer
The new site elevated Rome’s credibility and served as a more effective
sales enablement tool.
3. Trade Show Activation
Rome’s new brand came to life publicly at the International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE) in Atlanta. With bold visuals and authentic storytelling, the reimagined booth left a lasting impression. Attendees assumed the company had hired models for its campaign photos. The reality? Every image featured actual Rome team members.
“It felt like the culmination of everything we spent so much time building. People were paying attention in a different kind of way. Everyone knows the Rome brand for its bold red color. But, our booth was completely different from what everyone else was doing in every way.”
-Kate Rome, Chief Executive Officer
4. Sales Enablement & Alignment
Rome’s sales strategy also underwent a major overhaul as part of an in-person two-day workshop and playbook implementation. Red Caffeine helped the team modernize its sales process through:
- New marketing collateral and sales tools
- Strategic four-quadrant customer segmentation
- Focused outreach and lead qualification strategies
- Ongoing sales coaching and training
- Optimizing their CRM activities and lead tracking
- Leveraging HubSpot automations to help the sales team prioritize and scale their outreach
The result was improved communication, more qualified opportunities, and higher-value quotes.
“Changing our sales tactics and having better marketing collateral in our presentations has really helped us level up. In the last few months, we’ve seen an incredible amount of new potential customers and we’re quoting an incredible amount of new large projects.”
-Kate Rome, Chief Executive Officer
The Outcomes: Confidence, Clarity, and Business Growth
The impact of Rome’s work with Red Caffeine has been transformative. The partnership delivered more than a new logo or website—it helped Rome rediscover its identity, unite its workforce, and reignite its growth trajectory.
Results include:
- Clear internal and external brand alignment
- Increased employee pride and cultural cohesion
- Improved lead quality and higher-volume quoting
- Enhanced visibility and brand perception at trade shows
- A modern website that supports sales and service at scale
Conclusion
Rome Grinding Solutions is no longer asking “What’s next?”—they’re defining it. With a renewed sense of purpose and a powerful brand foundation, Rome continues to grow on its own terms.
“The continuity between our online presence, our product literature, and our trade show experience makes us look like a more trusted brand and we’re showing how we’re the experts in what we do. We’re not just some mom and pop shop, and most importantly that we’re not going anywhere.”
-Kate Rome, Chief Executive Officer
Book a time with a our team today.
