Paint Suppliers Seal New Deals 

By Mark Seavy  

In a business where brand names can seal the deal, paint suppliers are making inroads in collaborations and licensing. 

Many of the top paint companies, including Sherwin-Williams and Berkshire Hathaway’s Benjamin Moore, already have strong brand recognition and extensive networks of corporate-owned stores. Yet amid those well-known names is a growing effort to further burnish paint brands with unexpected partnerships.  

Additionally, newer paint companies are looking to partner with established IPs (and potentially go viral on social media) in order to connect with new consumers.  

Benjamin Moore, for example, recently launched a collaboration with Vermont-based handmade ceramics and home goods company Farmhouse Pottery for mugs and vases imbued with paints from the supplier’s Color of the Year 2026 palette. And that was in addition to a separate agreement with Modern Matter for brass knobs featuring a powder-coated finish from the same color collection. These deals followed an earlier agreement Benjamin Moore signed in 2013 with The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation that drew from a 144-color palette curated by interior designer Heather Chadduck Hillegas. 

Sherwin-Williams, meanwhile, launched a co-branded line with Warner Bros. Discovery’s HGTV in 2011 that went on to become a permanent installation in the Lowe’s paint department. It also led to the annual HGTV Home by Sherwin-Williams Color Collection of the Year. It also has an annual “Loneliest Color” contest for the color that receives the fewest requests in paint stores. That promotion is tied to the LeBron James Family Foundation for the Promise Project and offers prizes including a signed basketball and a $1,000 Sherwin-Willaims gift card. 

“There’s volatility in the competitive environment and that absolutely is our opportunity,” Sherwin-Williams CEO Heidi Petz said. “You are going to hear us talk about this jump ball environment. And so, in this economy and in this competitive landscape, we are going to be extremely aggressive and make sure that we take more than our fair share of volume.” 

That competitive environment has also produced some upstarts.  

U.K.-based Lick started as an online paint supplier and has struck a series of licensing deals. Those agreements have covered The Estée Lauder Companies for a MAC cosmetics-inspired paint, Kraft Heinz for a tomato ketchup color, and Authentic Brands Group’s Hunter Boots for a green shade inspired by the iconic footwear.  

As many of these buzzy licensing agreements went viral on social media, paint companies were exploring other strategies to expand.  

Sherwin-Williams reached an agreement to acquire retail buying group Do It Best (8,500 dealers) and the affiliate True Value (4,500 dealers) manufacturing facilities in Cary, IL to continue producing EasyCare and Best Look brands for the two chains, respectively. It also bought the Majic and Shur-Line brands from Do It Best, which will remain exclusive to independent hardware retailers.  

And one-time Sears stalwart brand Weatherbeater, which is owned by Full Sail Partners, was licensed to Mr. Brands LLC, which launched redwood desk stain and sealer at Ollie’s Bargain Outlet. 

“If you look at the DIY segment, the homeowner that is willing to pay a premium and is looking for high-touch service generally prefers the specialty store environment,” a licensing executive said. “If you look at the more value conscious homeowner, they might prefer a home center environment and that is where partnerships with someone like Lowe’s or Menard’s [are important].”