Chameo Board: From product innovation to a strong brand

What Monopoly is doing in a kitchen

The brand

True innovations are rare. We found one.

One that could potentially change an entire industry. But nobody knew how to explain the innovation – a product that is something completely new. The development of the brand identity made the crucial difference. Read the whole story behind Chameo Board®, The World’s First Tempering Cutting Board.

The goals

During the first joint workshop with the team from LENSER Filtration, we formulated the overarching core question: What makes our brand unmistakable and who is our message intended for? The preliminary working title of the product: Monopoly. An homage to the main material polypropylene and the envisioned monopoly position of the game-changing innovation. This question is what guided us from that first workshop all the way to the unveiling at the INTERNORGA trade fair for food service and hospitality.

The starting situation

In early 2021, we received an inquiry: Brand identity development for a true innovation. A cutting board that can be kept at a constant temperature between 0-70° Celsius thanks to a heating/cooling unit. Developed and produced by the German mid-sized company LENSER Filtration from Senden near Ulm. The idea came from Managing Director Georg Börste and chef Simon Nordhoff.

The company LENSER Filtration works, as the name implies, in filtration technology for industrial applications. LENSER has a lot of experience with food-safe processing of plastics, but until now has been working far from the refined world of catering and hospitality.

The development process

1. Survey among industry experts like chefs and restaurant managers and LENSER employees regarding their assessment of the innovation using a product video
2. Carving out and condensing the crucial product features into a clear identity expressing the benefit of the product
3. Clarification of the relationship between the new brand and the brand LENSER Filtration
4. Development of a clear positioning and a shared vision
5. Development of a strong brand name, a sub-line, and a strong motto
6. Building a community in the German-speaking region
7. Training the sales team on the benefit of the unmistakable brand
8. Training the production staff on the new brand
9. Support with the market launch through events and trade fairs like the INTERNORGA in Hamburg

From positioning to chameleon

The positioning should focus the uniqueness of the product innovation to a point. The result of the workshop: “The first professional cooking tool that makes cooling, warming and cutting possible – anywhere.” With this clear focus, the next step was to find a name that can convey this positioning. The company chose the brand name Chameo Board® with a matching chameleon as a signature image. Why a chameleon? The product adapts to its ambient temperature – it can cool as well as warm, and it can do it anywhere. The image of the chameleon picks up on this idea and translates the positioning. The name is complemented by the sub-line “The First Tempering Cutting Board”, and together with the motto “Changes The Way You Cook” expresses the disruptive character of Chameo Board® to a tee.

The result

At the leading food service and hospitality fair INTERNORGA in Hamburg, we unveiled Chameo Board® with the project team on 30.04.2022. The professional crowd at the fair received the innovation enthusiastically, not only because we were one of the few exhibits in the hall that actively approached visitors. Rather, every single person working the booth was able to clearly communicate the benefits of Chameo Board® thanks to the brand identity we had developed, the positioning expressing the advantages, the understanding of their role as a sophisticated pioneer, and several communication training sessions. Now the path is clear for the vision of Chameo Board®: Every chef can present the full potential of their cuisine center stage.