Chameleon finds new forms with funding
An entrepreneur from Nottingham Trent University has expanded his business after securing a grant of more than £12,000 from the East Midlands Development Agency (Emda). Luke Thomas, founder and managing director of LBT Design, has developed a multipurpose recyclable packaging system named Chameleon after securing the Pathfinder grant.
The Chameleon design is a pack which converts into a presentation container for its contents, providing a use for packaging material which would normally have been thrown away.
He received a Pathfinder grant worth £12,320 from Emda and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
Originally designed for the confectionery market, the potential applications for Chameleon have now been expanded to include the medical field.
Through collaboration with Nottingham Trent and De Montfort Universities, East Midlands Healthcare and Bioscience iNet and the East Midlands Development Agency, the product has been adapted for the disposal of used needles in hospitals.
In September 2010, the Chameleon product also won the Lord Stafford Innovation in Development award.
Thomas said: “Receiving the Pathfinder grant from emda enabled LBT Design to file a UK patent for Chameleon. It also enabled us to undertake a variety of development activities to help evolve the initial concept and investigate multiple markets, such as possible opportunities in the camping and leisure markets.
The entrepreneur has now met a variety of manufacturers regarding multiple applications for Chameleon, one of which is currently negotiating a licensing agreement with Chameleon.
