Colart

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

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

• Art materials manufacturing
• Professional artist supplies
• Watercolour paints
• Acrylic paints
• Artist brushes and markers

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. 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

Core 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

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Tom's StudiocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2026Tom'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 RoomscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2025Hospital 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 FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Winsor & 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

Broad 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

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/89220
• Instagraminstagram.com/colart_united
• Xx.com/colart_united
• Facebookfacebook.com/colartunited

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Colart