2025 Trend Predictions: Insights from Ellie LaFever
What will customers be craving in 2025 — and how can your flower shop get there first? Ellie LaFever joins Vonda and Lori for a rapid-fire romp through the year's trend forecasts: Pantone's controversial color of the year, a flower-friendlier alternative from Thursd, and twenty predictions from Pinterest, graded live on a simple scale of love it or leave it. In between, there are stocking stuffer lists, a Wicked rabbit hole, and one very memorable bingo card idea you'll want to steal for your shop.
Mocha Mousse: cozy cocoon or "sad beige"?
The Pantone Color of the Year for 2025 is Mocha Mousse, and the hosts are split. Lori can't unsee a certain brown emoji and had been rooting for a Ralph Lauren-style comeback of burgundy, hunter green, and jewel tones. Vonda was simply surprised — this warm neutral feels like the toffee-and-quicksand rose moment from a few years back, more backward than forward. Ellie makes the case for it: interiors have already shifted from white and light beige toward darker, earthier tones, and Mocha Mousse sits at the lighter end of that movement — comforting, warm, and versatile, especially with its companion palettes of mauve, rose tan, and cornflower blue. Fashion heavyweights got there years ago, so it's a safe, neutral bet rather than a bold one.
Amethyst Glow: the florist's color of the year
The color that actually excites the hosts comes from Thursd, the flower-and-plant newsletter: Amethyst Glow, a lavender-into-purple inspired by the northern lights and the beauty of nature. Unlike Mocha Mousse, this one comes with a ready-made flower list — roses and spray roses like Lavender Bubbles and Lavender Ritual, scabiosa, gladiolus, calla lilies, double lilies, alstroemeria, clematis, limonium, lilacs, Monte Cassino, ranunculus, anemones, tulips, and cosmos. Two colors, two personalities: bright and floral versus subtle and calming — and there's no rule saying your shop can't play with both.
Pinterest's 20 trends, florist edition
Ellie likes Pinterest's predictions because they're built on real search data. Highlights from the list: travel shifts from big cities to out-of-the-way mountain towns; besties are matching outfits ("we started that trend," Lori notes of her Zoom twinning with Vonda); the fisherman aesthetic brings cable knits, stripes, sardine tins, and — hard pass from all three — sardine tattoos. "Terra Futura" captures the tension the team saw at Maison & Objet: smart homes full of tech paired with a craving for gardening, knitting, and making things by hand. Maximalism goes full "more is more" with bold patterns and layered textures. Cherry red keeps rolling, charms are on everything from necklaces to handbags, and castle core and sea witchery earn some memorable facial expressions from Vonda.
The celebration trends matter most for florists: Rococo Revival (Marie Antoinette vibes, corset gowns, ornate tablescapes) and surreal soirees — curvy candlesticks, gravity-defying centerpieces, and fantastical Salvador Dali-inspired arrangements mixing fruit and flowers. The hosts love the look but wonder aloud whether, like checkerboard, it'll be everywhere and then suddenly over. Also earning unanimous applause: nesting parties replacing traditional baby showers, with freezer meals, diaper bouquets, and cabinet organization instead of gift-unwrapping marathons — an idea florists can build offerings around.
How to actually use this in your shop
The trio lands on practical moves. Vonda's take on maximalism: if customers said they weren't buying centerpieces this Thanksgiving, ask yourself whether you promoted them — make a grandiose, over-the-top piece, photograph it in a styled setting, and push it for Christmas, Valentine's, and Galentine's. Ellie suggests building small photo backdrops in your shop that lean into a trend — drape an amethyst-glow silk and shoot a whole series of designs against it, even if the designs themselves stay classic. Vonda extends it to weddings: create a few bouquet styles in a trend color palette so brides can visualize it, and ask your wholesaler what they carry in those colors. Run it as a monthly theme — a whole northern-lights collection, anyone?
And instead of a vision board for 2025, Lori's making a bingo card of goals — stamp a square when you do the thing, yell "bingo" in the staff Slack. The idea instantly becomes a shop tool: give every employee a card with squares like "sold the $300 roses" or "sold above this price point" and attach incentives. Vonda's card already includes Paris, Notre Dame, and a flower trip to the Netherlands.
Key takeaways
- Two colors to design around in 2025: Pantone's warm, neutral Mocha Mousse and Thursd's flower-rich Amethyst Glow — offer customers both moods.
- Watch the celebration trends: maximalist, surreal, Rococo-inspired event work is hot, but plan for it to burn bright and fade.
- Don't wait for customers to ask — make trend-forward showpieces, photograph them in styled settings, and promote them ahead of every holiday.
- A simple trend backdrop in your shop turns everyday designs into on-trend social content.
- Turn 2025 goals into a bingo card — for yourself and as a sales incentive game for your staff.