What Coloro - The Color Code does

Coloro, legally operating as "Coloro - The Color Code," is a London-based for-profit company that has built a structured, proprietary color system targeting the textile, fashion, and lifestyle industries. Founded in 2017, the company sells a logical color selection methodology that combines physical color libraries (designed-to-last reference standards) with digital tools and feasibility data, enabling brands, retailers, and their supply chains to move from color intent to accurate, repeatable production execution. The platform is positioned as a disruptive alternative to legacy color referencing approaches and has been recognized by WWD as one of three disruptive technologies in the apparel industry alongside Baytech Sustainable Technologies and Gozen.

The company's product surface spans six offerings: the core Coloro System, Color Libraries (physical standards), Data & Digital Tools (digital color standards and feasibility data), the Coloro Workspace subscription platform, Color of the Year Forecasting (delivered in partnership with WGSN), and the Coloro Educates webinar program. The system is built to serve two primary user groups within each customer: creative teams that need fast, intuitive color selection, and technical teams and suppliers that need accurate, reproducible dye and production matching. Customers cite measurable operational benefits including improved first-round lab dip approval rates and reduced need for custom color development.

Coloro operates an enterprise B2B go-to-market combining direct field sales to large brands with a self-service e-commerce channel (shop.coloro.com) for mid-market buyers, supported by channel partnerships with WGSN (trend forecasting) and YKK (hardware/trims integration). Revenue mechanics include one-time color library licensing, recurring Coloro Workspace subscriptions, professional services and onboarding support, and licensing/royalty economics from the WGSN forecasting collaboration. The company is privately held with no disclosed parent, funding history, or revenue figures.

Name

Coloro - The Color Code

Legal name

Coloro

Website

https://int.coloro.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Coloro - The Color Code is a London-based, privately held company that sells a proprietary structured color system, physical color libraries, and a subscription workspace platform to brands, retailers, and textile supply chains in apparel, footwear, and lifestyle.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Color Management Software

NAICS

Industrial Design Services (54142)

akta.pro primary industry

Color Matching, Tinting & Colorant Systems (IMAEAHAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Color Blends & Formulation Systems (Standardized Blends, Shade Matching) (AFAJAEAF), Application-Specific Color Solutions (Beverage, Dairy, Confectionery, Bakery, Savory, Pet Food) (AFAJAEAH)

Keywords

• Color management system
• Textile color standards
• Fashion color forecasting
• Digital color tools
• Apparel color matching

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Color Libraries Sales: Sale of physical and digital color library products to brands, retailers and creative teams. These designed-to-last libraries are sold as products through the e-commerce platform.
2. Color Workspace Subscription: Subscription-based access to Coloro workspace platform for color management, trend analysis, and digital color standards.
3. Professional Services & Support: Onboarding, technical questions, dye support, and ordering assistance provided as part of the unrivaled support offering to enterprise clients.
4. Color Forecasting & Consulting: Color trend forecasting services including Color of the Year predictions and strategic color insights for future seasons, delivered through WGSN partnership.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Coloro provides a structured, logical color system for the design industry, combining physical color reference libraries, advanced digital color standards and feasibility data, and a subscription-based digital workspace. The system is designed to help brands, retailers, and their supply chains improve the creation, communication, and execution of color across apparel, footwear, and lifestyle products. Supporting services include annual Color of the Year trend forecasting (in partnership with WGSN) and the Coloro Educates webinar program.

Product overview

Coloro is an innovative color system and partner for the design industry that provides a comprehensive suite of products and services. The core offering consists of the Coloro System (a structured color selection methodology), Color Libraries (physical color reference standards), and Data & Digital Tools (digital color standards and feasibility data). These core components are supported by the Coloro Workspace subscription platform for team collaboration, Color of the Year Forecasting for trend prediction, and Coloro Educates for educational content. The system supports both creative teams and technical teams/suppliers to improve color creation, communication, and execution.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Color Libraries Physical color reference standards designed to be logical and visually appealing, providing a comprehensive collection of color references for creative teams at brands, retailers, and design organizations.
• Data & Digital Tools Advanced feasibility data and accurate color standards available in both physical and digital formats to help technical teams achieve precise color matching.
• Coloro Workspace A collaborative digital workspace platform for teams to manage color selection, communication, and execution throughout the design process on a subscription basis.
• Coloro System An innovative color system providing a structured approach to color selection, designed to help brands, retailers, and supply chains improve creation, communication, and execution of color.
• Color of the Year Forecasting Annual color trend forecasting service developed in collaboration with WGSN that predicts colors set to define future seasons, providing strategic insight for planning.
• Coloro Educates Educational webinar program providing color insights and training for the year ahead, positioned as a service from the global leader in color excellence.

Quantifiable outcome

• Greatly improved first submissions for lab dips
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, key and minor.

• WGSNcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerColoro and WGSN collaborate on annual Color of the Year predictions, providing color trend forecasting for future seasons. This partnership combines Coloro's color expertise with WGSN's trend analysis capabilities to deliver strategic color insights to the fashion industry. The collaboration produces forecasts like Transformative Teal for 2026 and Luminous Blue for 2027.
• YKKkeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerColoro and YKK partnership united in commitment to innovation for the future of textile production. The collaboration focuses on integrating Coloro's color system with YKK's zipper and hardware products, ensuring color consistency from design through production in textile manufacturing.
• CarharttkeyGTM or Marketing PartnerCarhartt is listed as a partner/ client of Coloro, utilizing their color system for brand color management in workwear and outdoor apparel products.
• GooglekeyGTM or Marketing PartnerGoogle is listed as a partner/client of Coloro, potentially utilizing their color system for product design or branding initiatives.
• MerrellkeyGTM or Marketing PartnerMerrell is a partner/client of Coloro, using their color libraries for outdoor footwear design. Merrell has praised Coloro as 'the direction in which color systems should be going' with 'abundance of options.'
• PUMAkeyGTM or Marketing PartnerPUMA is a partner/client of Coloro, utilizing Coloro's color system to support their colorful brand identity and market leadership in color for athletic footwear and apparel.
• AATCC (American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists)minorOthersColoro maintains affiliation and membership with AATCC, a leading professional organization for textile industry professionals focused on wet processing, color science, and textile testing.
• SDC (Society of Dyers and Colourists)minorOthersColoro maintains affiliation and membership with SDC, a professional society dedicated to the science and technology of color and coloration in dyes and pigments.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• HunterLab: HunterLab manufactures color measurement instruments and software for industrial color quality control. It addresses a narrower segment (measurement hardware) of the same color management workflow Coloro targets in textile and apparel.

Direct peers

• Pantone: Pantone is the dominant color system standard across design, fashion, print, and manufacturing. Coloro is positioned as the modern, structured alternative to Pantone, targeting the same creative and technical teams with a logically organized system plus digital tools.
• X-Rite: X-Rite (owned by Danaher) is the parent of Pantone and a leading provider of color measurement hardware, software, and standards for industrial color management. Coloro competes in the same color-management workflow for textile and apparel supply chains.
• NCS Colour: NCS (Natural Color System) is a licensed color system widely used in architecture, interior design, and product design. It is a competing standardized color system that addresses the same communication and specification challenges Coloro targets in fashion and lifestyle.
• Datacolor: Datacolor provides color management solutions including spectrophotometers, formulation software, and digital color standards for textile, paint, and plastics industries. It is a direct competitor in the industrial color matching and quality control workflow.

Broad incumbents

• DyStar: DyStar supplies dyes, auxiliaries, and color services to the textile and apparel industry. It competes indirectly with Coloro on the supplier side of color specification and lab-dip workflows that Coloro helps standardize.
• WGSN: WGSN is the global leader in trend forecasting for fashion, beauty, and lifestyle and is Coloro's partner for Color of the Year. It is a partial collaborator but also a broader incumbent in trend/color intelligence serving many of the same enterprise customers.
• Adobe (Creative Cloud Color Tools): Adobe integrates color management and library capabilities (Adobe Color, Pantone plug-ins) across its creative software stack. As a broad incumbent with deep designer penetration, Adobe is a structural competitor to any digital color system vendor.
• Archroma: Archroma is a global specialty chemicals company providing dyes and color management services for the textile industry. It operates as a broader incumbent across the textile color value chain, overlapping with Coloro's technical/supplier-side value proposition.

Regional players

• Color Solutions International (archroma): Color Solutions International, part of Archroma, provides seasonal color palettes and standards for the textile and apparel supply chain. It is a partial overlap with Coloro's trend forecasting and library offering, primarily serving the textile mill ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/coloro_
• YouTubem.youtube.com/c/Coloro_theColorCode
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/coloro
• Instagraminstagram.com/coloro_
• Facebookfacebook.com/colorothecolorcode

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Coloro - The Color Code