Building a relationship one project at a time
Calphalon pioneered the concept of professional grade cookware for the home back in 1963. Coupling Calphalon’s reputation for excellence with Design Central's expertise in design and engineering built a 14-year relationship and a platform to enter new categories for a growing brand.
Client
- Calphalon
Industry
- Consumer
Capabilities
- Product Design
- Engineering
- Prototyping
Background
As a leader in the upscale cookware category, Calphalon came to Design Central looking for help entering the non-existent mid-range cookware market. Their strategy was to conquer the mid-range market with an exclusive line of cookware for Target and needed a new level of design and implementation expertise to succeed. The new line was hugely successful for both the retailer and manufacturer and brought Calphalon back to Design Central to continue their expansion into new markets.
Results
The 1998 launch of Calphalon’s Kitchen Essentials for Target resulted in sales 400% over projections. This successful redefinition of the cookware market and introduction of Calphalon’s upscale brand into the mass market began a relationship between Calphalon and Design Central that spanned 14 years. We continued to assist with Calphalon’s market expansion while reflecting the strength of their brand image at retail with the development of their cutlery, kitchen utensil and small electrics lines.
Design
We worked with Calphalon to satisfy their marketing goals of developing new products outside the cookware market. The team engaged in research, project definition, human factors and ergonomics studies, industrial design and visual communications to design glassware, kitchen gadgets, small kitchen electronics and more for mid-range retailers. This strengthened Calphalon’s brand position in the market.
Engineering
Our engineers partnered with Calphalon to bring products such as ergonomic cutlery, a mandolin slicer and more to market at breakneck speed. The team’s focus on user safety, speed to market, surfacing, prototype development, implementation, testing, verification and vendor coordination, as well as Design Central’s extensive knowledge of Calphalon’s manufacturing requirements, resulted in several successful product launches and the extension of Calphalon’s brand.