4 November 2024
Under the Radar: The many shades of Pantone - its President sheds light on the firm’s business model, collaboration with Nespresso, Porsche, and colour trends
We promise to make this conversation a colourful one as we speak to global colour authority Pantone.
The firm is a provider of professional standards for the design industries, creating a universal language of colour that enables colour critical decisions through every stage of the workflow for brands and the manufacturer.
But did you know that Pantone’s origins could be traced back to a commercial printing company in New York City in the 1950s? The company had systematised and simplified its pigments and coloured inks, and that’s how the Pantone we know came about.
Today, Pantone works with some of the world’s most recognisable consumer, fashion and technology brands, with over 10 million designers and producers relying on its products and services to help define, communicate and control colour from inspiration to realisation.
The firm’s business can be broadly split into four segments: (1) Pantone Standards which feature digital and physical colour specification and workflow tools, the (2) Pantone Colour Institute which provides customised colour standards, brand identity, product colour consulting and trend forecasting, (3) Pantone B2B Licensing and last but not least (4) Pantone Lifestyle that brings colour and design across apparel, home and accessories.
More notably, Pantone is also an operating subsidiary of Veralto, a US$5 billion essential technology solutions leader listed on the New York Stock Exchange. But how does the business work exactly?
Meanwhile, Pantone and luxury car maker Porsche together presented an exclusive colour called Turbonite. That’s a colour with an elegant metallic grey tone customised for the brand and its Turbo derivatives. But what does such collaborations mean for Pantone when it comes down to the P&L?
On Under the Radar, Money Matter's finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Elley Cheng, President, Pantone.

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