{"id":929045,"date":"2026-08-22T21:14:44","date_gmt":"2026-08-23T02:14:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/22\/vibram-making-a-focus-on-outsoles-a-growth-business\/"},"modified":"2026-08-22T21:14:44","modified_gmt":"2026-08-23T02:14:44","slug":"vibram-making-a-focus-on-outsoles-a-growth-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/22\/vibram-making-a-focus-on-outsoles-a-growth-business\/","title":{"rendered":"Vibram Making A Focus On Outsoles A Growth Business"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Vibram<\/picture><\/div>\n
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Vibram outsoles have enjoyed growth in the outdoor space thanks to a range of new companies partnering with the Italian maker.<\/span><\/p>\n

Vibram<\/small><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Companies no longer ask Vibram simply for outsoles, instead requesting problem solving. That\u2019s let the privately held Italian rubber outsole maker triple its business since 2018 while new partnerships with the likes of Nike, Brooks, Arc\u2019teryx and Altra allowed Vibram to grow its retail exposure nearly sixfold. <\/p>\n

Performance footwear brands, especially the giants, once kept all their components in house. That\u2019s no longer the case. \u201cWe don\u2019t have the resources for the marketing, but we have the product,\u201d Fabrizio Gamberini, global chief brand and consumer officer for Vibram, tells me. \u201cWith the product we\u2019ve created a relationship with the consumer, so the consumer is asking companies for Vibram. If they want to provide a value-add, they need to have Vibram.\u201d <\/p>\n

The leader in rubber outsole technology, Vibram has carved more than a niche, becoming the industry standard, whether for work or safety, or now outdoor performance. \u201cEverything starts with the product,\u201d Gamberini says. \u201cWhat we are able to do is really ignite the greatness of a product.\u201d <\/p>\n

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Norda has embrace Vibram’s grippiest running outsole for its popular wave of shoes. <\/span><\/p>\n

Jake Forsythe for Norda<\/small><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

The success of Vibram in the most extreme outdoor conditions\u2014it\u2019s become a mainstay at the UTMB and Vibram has rubber compounds that don\u2019t freeze in below-zero temperatures for mountain runners and don\u2019t dissolve in heat, used by wildland firefighters\u2014has allowed the brand to build a following. The only reason consumers demand Vibram from their favorite companies, though, is trust. \u201cIf you see the yellow tag, you are really confident and then you can focus on other elements,\u201d Gamberini says. \u201cDoes it have Vibram or not? Can I trust it or not?\u201d<\/p>\n

That trust is coming up on a 90th<\/sup> anniversary. Started in 1937, the secret sauce of Vibram is a bit like Coca-Cola, with a formula anchored in time, but evolved along the way. Gamberini says it isn\u2019t about creating new formulas, but about offering fresh designs and tweaks. <\/p>\n

Every decision focuses on Vibram fixating on one thing only: outsoles. \u201cWe are an ingredients brand,\u201d Gamberini says. \u201cWe don\u2019t do anything else. We just do outsoles. At this point it is like those artists who are incredible at what they are doing, that is what they do. They don\u2019t think about anything else.\u201d<\/p>\n

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A partnership with Nike has helped Vibram enjoy growth. <\/span><\/p>\n

Vibram<\/small><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Vibram has a few main pillars of outdoor-focused outsoles, each fine-tuned to provide a specific solution. When Vibram launched its first product with Nike, the ACG Ultrafly on July 23, it started a cascade in adoption from the Oregon-based giant and helped Vibram gain more industry awareness. Nike isn\u2019t the only new partner. Alongside legacy partners such as Merrell, Scarpa, The North Face and Danner, Arc\u2019teryx has seen an uptick in popularity in Asia with Vibram, Saucony pushes needs on technical terrain, the Brooks agreement has opened a new wave with the Seattle brand and there\u2019s an exclusive new Vibram outsole for Altra. \u201cAfter Nike we started to get request from pretty much everybody,\u201d Gamberini says. <\/p>\n

New brands on board and longstanding partners expanding their use has fueled Vibram\u2019s growth, with the United States the largest driver of that and China following. <\/p>\n

Brooks, a leader in running, partnered with Vibram this summer for the first time on the brand\u2019s pinnacle Cascadia lineup with Vibram Megagrip. A new exclusive outsole for Altra\u2019s Torin 9, the EX Dura, offers a creation designed first for road. Norda has chosen the new Megagrip Elite version with even more grip, ideal for wet roots. \u201cWe changed the formula to provide that type of feature,\u201d Gamberini says about what Norda selected. <\/p>\n

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Brooks has embraced Vibram on its Cascadia lineup. <\/span><\/p>\n

Vibram<\/small><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

With hike and trail the main platform for the performance athletic pillar, Vibram\u2019s next big step is to continue to embrace the trail while welcoming the sports of golf, tennis (Italian tennis brand Lotto already uses Vibram), basketball and surfing. \u201cWe have good plans,\u201d Gamberini teases about a forthcoming tennis collaboration, \u201cwe are working.\u201d <\/p>\n

Having that base formula, though, is key. From there, Vibram can tweak to solve problems, whether offering a lighter weight version mixed with fabric, a winter version mixed with fiberglass to ensure grip on wet ice or snow or a nearly completely natural version. No tweak hits the ground without extensive testing, both with machinery and with athletes scrutinizing everything from grip strength to rubber thickness. \u201cI think all of this is helping get the quality of product to the point people are coming to us,\u201d Gamberini says. \u201cWe are premium because they get something that is valuable.\u201d <\/p>\n

Whether looking for grip to run in an icy Central Park in February, a scorching Phoenix in August, across the French Alps in Chamonix, France, the wet terrain of the Pacific Northwest, the tricky terrain of Italy\u2019s the Dolomites or the gravel of mountain roads across the world, \u201cthe outsole is the moment in which your body is touching the ground,\u201d Gamberini says. \u201cA lot of companies are working on the midsole, but what is really touching the ground? It is the outsole. If you are prepared with that, you can accomplish much more.\u201d <\/p>\n

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A Vibram outsole. <\/span><\/p>\n

Vibram<\/small><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

MORE: <\/strong>Nike And Hyperice Grow Collaboration With New Hyperslide Recovery Footwear<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

MORE: <\/strong>Reebok Returns To Head-To-Toe Performance Tennis With Phase Evo Shoe<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Read More<\/a>
\n Tim Newcomb<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Vibram outsoles have enjoyed growth in the outdoor space thanks to a range of new companies partnering with the Italian maker. Vibram Companies no longer ask Vibram simply for outsoles, instead requesting problem solving. That\u2019s let the privately held Italian rubber outsole maker triple its business since 2018 while new partnerships with the likes of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":929046,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1510,151914],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-929045","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-making","category-vibram"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/929045","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=929045"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/929045\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/929046"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=929045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=929045"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=929045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}