A silly idea that most people would reject turned into a business everyone wants to know about.

The more I work with different brands, the more I realize it is in studying the category where the most obvious opportunities appear. I recently discovered Cook and Pan. A brand selling pans. The founder simply looked around and noticed that all pans and most kitchenware is black or metallic. He thought, how about making this more fun? Like adding color to it?

It is one of those ideas that most people with zero vision will reject: “that’s silly” or “stupid idea” or “nobody did it before so it won’t work.”

Yet it’s a product that stands out immediately. When I talk about what I do, I mention Cook and Pan as the most obvious example of what strategy can do to an entire organization. And it’s the only example where everyone pulls up their phone to look at the green pan.

The name is not sexy, but it’s easy to remember, easy to search and works wonders for SEO. The brand identity serves the product-first strategy, making the overall first impression stand out on its own.

In 12 months the brand grew nearly 10x in revenue. Selling pans.

This is a perfect example of how a brand with an opinion made a dent in a crowded category.