The 2026 Paint Inflation Index: Are You Paying a “Label Tax”?

Walk into a showroom and a tin of premium paint costs noticeably more than it did a few years ago. Some of that is ordinary inflation, the same rise you see on most things. A growing part of it is the brand premium: what you might call a label tax.

Where the money goes

Designer and trade paint come off similar production lines and use similar raw materials. A 2.5-litre tin of premium designer emulsion now sits north of £60. A 5-litre tin of a good trade paint, mixed to the same colour, often costs less than that for double the volume. The paint inside is not several times better. The difference is the name on the lid, the showroom it sits in, and the marketing behind it.

Why designer prices have run ahead

Trade paint is bought in bulk by decorators who notice every price rise, so its cost tracks the cost of making it. Designer paint is sold on aspiration, which leaves more room to push the price up faster than materials alone would explain. Over the past few years that gap has widened, and a larger share of a designer tin now pays for the brand rather than the paint.

How to opt out of the label tax

You do not have to pay the premium to get the colour. Match the designer shade to a trade paint on the NCS system and you pay for manufacturing, not marketing. The colour on your wall reads the same and the paint holds up, and the part you stop paying for is the label. Find the trade match for a colour, or read how NCS matching works.