Our relationship with this dynamic food and dining management services company began in 2003 when founder/president/ceo Richard Schenkel boldly decided to change the name of his start-up from Summit Dining Services to UNIDINE. Guided by insights gleaned from a successful career in hospitality management, Mr. Schenkel saw the opportunity to bring fresh food and fresher thinking to like-minded hospitals and senior services communities. He believed that the new name, his name—the melding of “unique” and “dining”—could help propel his vision. He was right. Together with Unidine’s then small leadership team, Richard and Tom crafted the strategic messaging and brand design foundation for what would become more than a decade of continuous growth.

For the next five years, our Brand Focus team handled virtually every aspect of brand identity and marketing communications development. In 2005, our efforts were rewarded with our first ReBrand 100^® Global Award. But the story doesn’t end there. In 2012, Tom accepted the newly created position of VP/Brand Marketing at Unidine. While Tom’s foray into corporate America did come to an end, the experience was positively invaluable for the rich, sweeping views it provided of a client organization that most creative types—usually sitting on the opposite side of the conference table—rarely see. And it is one of the important reasons why we believe Brand Focus is and can be a more valuable partner to any company seeking aggressive growth of their own. Bon appétit!