Pantone’s 2025 Colour of the Year is ‘Mocha Mousse’ 

In 2024, Pantone crowned ‘Peach Fuzz’ as its Colour of the Year—a soft, calming shade meant to inspire moments of stillness and a fresh outlook for the year ahead. But, much like our New Year’s resolutions, it didn’t take long for us to forget all about it. By June, the spotlight had shifted to Brat green, the bold, unapologetic hue championed by Charli XCX. Her latest album release cemented this electrifying shade as the real star of 2024’s colour palette.

However, for the year ahead, Pantone has announced its new Colour of the Year – a soft and chocolatey brown known as “Mocha Mousse 17-1230”.

Led by a team of global colour experts from the Pantone Colour Institute, the annual selection process for the Pantone Colour of the Year is a meticulous endeavour. Here, the team captures the global zeitgeist – of which the selected colour symbolises the global mood and attitude, reflecting collective desire in the form of a single, distinct hue.

Why ‘Mocha Mousse’?

Pantone’s Mocha Mousse isn’t just another shade of brown. According to Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director of the Pantone Colour Institute, it’s “sophisticated and lush, yet at the same time an unpretentious classic.” She explains that PANTONE 17-1230 Mocha Mousse redefines brown from being “humble and grounded” to embodying something “aspirational and luxe.”

The institute likens the shade to the comforting qualities of coffee and chocolate — a warm, familiar indulgence that resonates deeply. It’s no surprise, then, that visuals associated with the colour often include heaping bowls of velvety chocolate mousse and rich, buttery leather.

Laurie Pressman, Vice President of the Pantone Colour Institute, notes that the selection speaks to a broader cultural craving. “For Pantone Colour of the Year 2025, we look to a mellow brown hue whose inherent richness and sensorial and comforting warmth extends further into our desire for comfort and the indulgence of simple pleasures that we can gift and share with others.”

That being said, in the year ahead, you can expect to see Mocha Mousse inspiring a wave of products and designs in different industries which will include your favourite fashion brands and perhaps your beauty essentials. While it may be an understated yet indulgent hue, Mocha Mousse is a shade that whispers sophistication while offering the kind of comfort we all need during these trying times.