Colart
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1998
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount1,001–5,000
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
Colart firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Colart
- Legal name
- Colart International Ltd
- Website
- https://colart.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1998
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1,001–5,000 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Colart industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Art Materials
- NAICS
- Hobby, Toy, and Game Retailers (45912)
- SIC
- Pens, Pencils & Other Artists' Materials (3950)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Fine Art Materials Retail (Paint, Canvas, Drawing) (CRALACAB)
Keywords
Where Colart is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Colart business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Art Materials Product Sales: Colart generates revenue primarily through the sale of physical art materials under its portfolio of brands. Revenue is derived from both wholesale/retail distribution and direct-to-consumer e-commerce sales. The company sells paints, brushes, markers, canvases, face paints, and related creative tools to professional artists, students, and hobbyists globally.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Colart product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Colart manufactures and distributes art materials under a portfolio of heritage brands including Winsor & Newton, Liquitex, Lefranc Bourgeois, Conté à Paris, Snazaroo, Charbonnel, and Reeves. Its product range spans professional paints (oil, watercolour, acrylic, gouache), drawing materials (pencils, pastels, charcoal), brushes, markers, canvases, and face paints. Products are sold in over 120 countries through a multi-channel strategy combining retail/wholesale partners, owned direct-to-consumer e-commerce storefronts, and direct consumer activations.
Product overview
Colart is a global house of creative brands offering a diversified portfolio of art materials across multiple product categories. The company operates a platform-plus-modules architecture, with Winsor & Newton (premium oils, watercolours) and Liquitex (acrylics including cadmium-free innovations) serving as flagship sub-brands. Supporting brands include Lefranc Bourgeois (historic French paints), Conté à Paris (drawing materials), Snazaroo (face painting), Charbonnel, and Reeves. The portfolio spans oils, acrylics, gouache, watercolours, markers, pencils, pastels, and face painting products. Colart also acquired Elephant Art magazine and collaborates with Tom's Studio for sustainable brush innovations. Products are available in over 130 countries, with direct-to-consumer channels through brand websites including a Shopify platform for Winsor & Newton.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Winsor & Newton: Premium art materials brand known for oil paints, watercolors, and professional art supplies with centuries of heritage.
- Liquitex
- Lefranc Bourgeois
- Conté à Paris
- Charbonnel
- Snazaroo
- Reeves
Products and services
- Winsor & Newton
- Liquitex
- Lefranc Bourgeois
- Conté à Paris
- Snazaroo
- Charbonnel
- Reeves
- Winsor & Newton Re-Crafted Professional Watercolour Synthetic Brushes
- Winsor & Newton Professional Watercolour (PWC) Themed Sets
- Winsor & Newton ProMarkers
Quantifiable outcome
- Global arts and crafts market projected to grow from US$67.9 billion (2024) to US$102.2 billion by 2030 at 7.1% CAGR
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Colart
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Colart technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
Colart partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Tom's StudiocoreTom's Studio, a UK-based brand known for creating design tools for creative professionals with a focus on quality and recycled materials, partnered with Winsor & Newton to create the limited-edition Re-Crafted Professional Watercolour Synthetic brushes. The collaboration, launched during International B Corp Month, transformed Winsor & Newton factory waste and recycled plastic into sculpted brush handles with a marbled pattern. The DTC-exclusive range took eight months from concept to market through agile cross-functional collaboration.
- Hospital RoomscoreHospital Rooms is a charity whose mission is to bring creativity, colour, and kindness to mental health hospitals through free creative sessions led by world-class artists. Colart supplies art materials (Winsor & Newton paints, Liquitex paints, sketchbooks) for art boxes assembled and distributed to every mental health unit in the UK — 1,000 boxes were sent in the most recent year. Colart employees also participated in a Community Day to pack these boxes.
- Paul Smith's FoundationcoreWinsor & Newton collaborated with Paul Smith's Foundation to present the International Art Prize — an open call for artists working in painting and drawing, aimed at supporting early-career artists (within their first 10 years of practice). The prize is awarded across multiple regions including New York, with winners selected by curators.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Colart competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Crayola: Hallmark-owned global leader in children's art supplies. Comparable as a major multi-brand art materials company but focused on the children's and education segment rather than professional artists — broader scale but different end-customer focus than Colart.
- Newell Brands: US-listed conglomerate owning Elmer's, Sharpie, and Paper Mate brands spanning art supplies, writing, and consumer goods. Overlaps with Colart in art materials and writing instruments but operates as a broad diversified incumbent rather than a category specialist.
Direct peers
- Royal Talens: Dutch privately-held manufacturer of artist-quality paints and materials under brands including Rembrandt, Van Gogh, and Talens. Most direct comparable: same category (fine art paints), similar premium-brand portfolio strategy, global distribution, and competing head-to-head in professional artist channels.
- Schmincke: German premium fine art paint manufacturer specialising in professional watercolours, oils, and acrylics. Direct peer in the highest-quality professional segment competing with Winsor & Newton and Lefranc Bourgeois head-to-head.
- Daler-Rowney: UK-based art materials manufacturer producing paints, brushes, papers, and canvases under Daler-Rowney, System 3, and FW Acrylic Ink brands. Direct peer based in the same home market with overlapping product range and professional/hobbyist customer base.
- Sakura Color Products: Japanese manufacturer of art materials famous for Pigma Micron pens, Cray-Pas oil pastels, and professional markers. Comparable through premium art-material brand portfolio serving professional artists globally.
- Faber-Castell: German family-owned manufacturer of art supplies, writing instruments, and cosmetics with ~250-year heritage. Directly comparable through its artist-grade paints, coloured pencils, and broad art materials portfolio serving professional, student, and hobbyist segments globally.
- Pebeo: French manufacturer of fine art and decorative paints including acrylics, oils, watercolours, and craft products. Comparable as a European heritage brand manufacturer with multi-brand portfolio spanning professional and hobbyist segments.
- Staedtler: German family-owned manufacturer of writing, drawing, and art materials with centuries of heritage. Competes directly with Colart's Conté à Paris and Liquitex brands in pencils, markers, and drawing media across professional and educational segments.
Emerging players
- Montana Cans: German manufacturer of professional spray paints and markers popular with street artists and illustrators. Comparable as a heritage-rooted art materials brand expanding through artist community endorsement and DTC channels — a partial-overlap emerging player in adjacent segments.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses3 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks4 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Colart social profiles
Digital presenceColart compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance4 records
Colart financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Colart leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Colart subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries8 records
Colart funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Colart M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Colart
What does Colart do?
Colart manufactures and distributes art materials under a portfolio of heritage brands including Winsor & Newton, Liquitex, Lefranc Bourgeois, Conté à Paris, Snazaroo, Charbonnel, and Reeves. Its product range spans professional paints (oil, watercolour, acrylic, gouache), drawing materials (pencils, pastels, charcoal), brushes, markers, canvases, and face paints. Products are sold in over 120 countries through a multi-channel strategy combining retail/wholesale partners, owned direct-to-consumer e-commerce storefronts, and direct consumer activations.
Is Colart a public or private company?
Colart is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was Colart founded?
Colart was founded in 1998. It employs 1,001 to 5,000 people.
Where is Colart based?
Colart is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Colart make money?
One revenue line is on record: art Materials Product Sales.
Who are Colart's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Crayola and Newell Brands. Direct peers are Royal Talens, Schmincke, Daler-Rowney, Sakura Color Products, Faber-Castell, Pebeo and Staedtler. Montana Cans is listed as an emerging player.
Does Colart have an API?
No public API is recorded for Colart.
What industry is Colart in?
Colart's product category is Art Materials. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRALACAB, Fine Art Materials Retail (Paint, Canvas, Drawing). Its NAICS code is 45912 and its SIC code is 3950.