Two Brands, One Principle: When B2B Categories Lose Their Codes
Or: Why a law firm and a chemical company prove that courage pays off
A law firm without lifeless glass towers. A chemical company without molecules. Two brands that were awarded the Red Dot Award in 2025 – not despite, but because they redefined their categories.
Kümmerlein and Grolman are living proof: Even in the B2B context, breaking category codes is not only possible but necessary. Their stories show how interchangeable brands become unmistakable identities.
The Courage to Be Clear: Kümmerlein Breaks with Law Firm Clichés
Imagine one of Germany’s elite commercial law firms decides: We no longer look like everyone else. No lifeless glass towers. No stock images of handshakes. No convoluted legal jargon.
Instead: „Make it simple, but significant.“
Nine Months of Transformation – 60 Partners, One Vision
The process was as radical as the result. For nine months, we worked with the entire Kümmerlein team – all 60 partners included – on one question: What really makes us unique when we strip away everything familiar?
The answer was a system based on a single element: the dot. Not as a graphic gimmick, but as an expression of an attitude. Clarity. Consistency. Precision.
The result? A law firm that looks the way it works: clear, direct, without detours.
Authenticity Instead of Artifice
The photography also broke all law firm codes. Instead of staged distance, real characters show real proximity. Instead of uniform professionalism, there’s personal warmth.
The message: Behind every legal case are people. On both sides.
From Linear to Circular: Grolman Grows New
170 years of family tradition in the chemical industry – and still the courage for complete repositioning. The Grolman Group proves: Tradition and transformation don’t exclude each other.
„Grow New“ – the new brand promise breaks with classical industry thinking. Growth and sustainability aren’t contradictory, but the future of chemistry.
Ecoscapes Instead of Molecules
While competitors continue working with test tubes and formulas, we developed Ecoscapes for Grolman: granular illustrations that make circularity visible.
These visual systems grow across all touchpoints – from website to trade fair. They don’t show what chemistry was, but what it can become.
The result? A traditional company leading its industry into the future.
The Anatomy of Successful Code Breakthroughs
Kümmerlein learned
Trust doesn’t arise from uniformity, but from authenticity.
Grolman recognized Innovation doesn’t show in copying proven patterns, but in the courage for one’s own vision.
The Three Success Factors of Real Transformation
1. Radical Honesty
Both companies asked themselves the uncomfortable question: What do we really do differently than everyone else? The answers were uncomfortable – and exactly therefore valuable.
2. Systematic Thinking
It’s not enough to just change the logo. Successful transformations permeate every touchpoint – from visual identity to corporate language.
3. Long-term Perspective
Both brands invested months in strategic work. The result: Identities that don’t just look different, but also function differently.
What Other B2B Brands Can Learn
The stories of Kümmerlein and Grolman are blueprints for every B2B category
For consultancies
Stop talking about „transformation.“ Show what you actually transform.
For technology companies
Replace „innovation“ with concrete problem solutions.
For financial service providers
Stop using „trust“ as an empty phrase. Show what makes you trustworthy.
The Uncomfortable Truth
The success of Kümmerlein and Grolman reveals an uncomfortable truth: Most B2B brands are interchangeable because they chose to be. Not because they have to be, but because it’s more convenient.
„B2B brands often have more freedom than consumer brands because their target audiences are more intelligent. Yet few use this opportunity. They prefer to copy what’s already there instead of creating what’s missing,“
says Philippe Henco, CEO and Co-Founder of KittoKatsu
The Next Step
Kümmerlein and Grolman won’t be the last brands to redefine their categories. They’re the first of a new generation of B2B companies that understood: Differentiation isn’t optional.
The question is: When will you break out of your category?
The tools are there. So are the examples. Now only one thing is missing: the courage.
About the projects
Kümmerlein Red Dot Award 2025 for strategic repositioning of a German elite commercial law firm
Grolman Group Red Dot Award 2025 for brand transformation of a 170-year-old family business in the chemical industry
