What Colour Hive does

Colour Hive is a London-based creative agency and publishing company founded in 2016, operating the "In Colour" subscription platform that delivers colour, material, and finish (CMF) intelligence to design professionals. Its core product is a tiered digital content platform — built on a Ghost content management system — offering three subscription tiers: a free Explorer tier, a mid-priced Navigator tier, and a premium Pioneer tier with full access to reports and downloads. The platform distributes daily editorial coverage, in-depth trend analysis, and forward-looking forecast publications including MIX Magazine (seasonal design directions), Global Colours (multi-year colour planning tools), CMF Directions (colour, material, and finish reports), Colour Impressions (annual key colour forecasts), Geographic Colours (regional palette analysis), and Signals (cultural and market indicators).

The business combines a recurring subscription revenue stream with bespoke consultancy services for brands seeking custom colour and design guidance. Its content library spans 625+ published articles across 51 topical tags, with editorial coverage extending to major global design events such as Milan Design Week, Clerkenwell Design Week, London Design Festival, Paris Design Week, and Maison & Objet. Customer segments are horizontal rather than concentrated: product designers, interior designers, fashion designers, and brands across multiple verticals (interior, fashion, automotive, architecture, furniture, craft) consume the colour intelligence for product development cycles, brand strategy, and material specification. Distribution is global and self-serve via the company website, supplemented by direct consultancy sales to enterprise clients.

Name

Colour Hive

Legal name

Colour Hive Limited

Website

https://colourhive.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Colour Hive is a London-based creative agency and publisher operating the In Colour subscription platform, delivering colour, material, and finish (CMF) forecasts, trend analysis, and design event coverage to product designers, interior designers, fashion designers, and brand teams globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Subscription Revenue: Tiered subscription model offering three levels of access to colour intelligence content: Explorer (free tier), and paid Navigator and Pioneer tiers with varying levels of content access, downloadable reports, and premium insights.
2. Consultancy Services: Consultancy services for brands seeking custom colour intelligence and design guidance.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Colour Hive operates "In Colour," a subscription-based colour intelligence and design forecasting platform serving product designers, interior designers, fashion designers, and brand teams. It delivers tiered content (Explorer free, Navigator and Pioneer paid) including MIX Magazine, Global Colours, CMF Directions, Colour Impressions, Geographic Colours, and Signals reports covering colour trends, material direction, and design forecasts across multiple verticals. The company also provides bespoke colour consultancy services for brands seeking custom intelligence.

Product overview

Colour Hive operates In Colour, a subscription-based colour intelligence platform offering tiered access (Explorer free, Navigator, and Pioneer) to design and colour forecasting content. The service provides various publication types including MIX Magazine (magazine-format forecasts), Global Colours (colour planning tools), CMF Directions (Colour, Material and Finish forecasts), Colour Impressions (key colour forecasts), Geographic Colours (regional colour analysis), and Signals (market indicators). The publications cover multiple design sectors including interiors, fashion, automotive, architecture, textiles, and furniture.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• In Colour Subscription-based colour intelligence platform providing daily inspiration, in-depth insights, and future forecasts for design and colour trends across multiple industry sectors.
• MIX Magazine Magazine-format design directions publication covering seasonal colour forecasts, design stories, and industry-focused reports across multiple years.
• Global Colours Colour planning tool providing complete palettes, colour flows, seasonal Continuity Colours, colour evolution, and colour references for multi-year forecasting periods.
• CMF Directions Colour, Material and Finish forecast reports providing detailed directional guidance for design themes across specific time periods.
• Colour Impressions Key colours and applications forecast reports for specific design years.
• Geographic Colours In-depth exploration of regional colour preferences with analysis and palettes for global regions.
• Signals Social and market signals reports presenting cultural and industry indicators that inform design directions.
• Colour Hive Consultancy Consultancy services for brands seeking custom colour intelligence and design guidance beyond standard subscriptions.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• WGSN: WGSN is the leading consumer and design trend forecasting subscription platform, covering colour, materials, fashion, interiors, and lifestyle sectors — directly overlapping with Colour Hive's CMF, colour forecasting, and editorial coverage. Both sell tiered subscriptions to designers and brands for forward-looking trend intelligence.
• Pantone Color Institute: Pantone is the global authority on standardised colour communication and publishes seasonal colour forecasts (e.g., Pantone Color of the Year, Fashion Color Trend Reports) used by designers across fashion, interiors, and product design — directly comparable to Colour Hive's Global Colours, Colour Impressions, and CMF Directions forecasts.
• Coloro: Coloro (a joint venture involving WGSN/Ascential) provides a standardised colour system and multi-year colour forecasts targeting fashion and product designers — directly comparable to Colour Hive's Global Colours and CMF Directions products, and operating in the same B2B designer subscriber base.
• Stylus: Stylus is a subscription-based consumer insights and trend forecasting service covering design, retail, consumer behaviour, and materials — overlapping with Colour Hive's multi-vertical CMF and trend intelligence across interiors, fashion, and lifestyle.
• Peclers Paris: Peclers Paris is a trend forecasting agency publishing seasonal colour, material, and lifestyle direction reports for fashion, beauty, and interior brands — directly comparable to Colour Hive's MIX Magazine and CMF Directions forecasts targeting the same designer persona.
• Trendstop: Trendstop provides subscription-based trend forecasting services for fashion and interior designers, including seasonal colour, print, and material forecasts — overlapping with Colour Hive's product portfolio and target customer base.
• The Future Laboratory: The Future Laboratory is a trends and consumer insight consultancy producing forecasts and reports on design, retail, and lifestyle — comparable to Colour Hive's consultancy and subscription offerings targeting brand-side strategy and CMF teams.
• Carlin International: Carlin International is a Paris-based trend forecasting bureau publishing seasonal colour, material, and lifestyle trend books for fashion and beauty brands — directly comparable to Colour Hive's tiered subscription forecast publications and CMF direction reports.

Regional players

• Heimtextil Trends: Heimtextil (Messe Frankfurt) publishes annual interior textiles trend forecasts presented at the Heimtextil trade fair — comparable to Colour Hive's interior and textile design coverage, but delivered through a major European trade show ecosystem rather than a subscription platform.
• Maison & Objet Trends: Maison & Objet publishes seasonal design and colour trends for the interiors and lifestyle sector, anchored to its Paris trade fair — overlapping with Colour Hive's interior design CMF coverage, but distributed via a European trade event rather than direct subscription.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/colour_hive
• Facebookfacebook.com/ColourHiveTrends
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/colour-hive

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Colour Hive