Shanghai Marie's Painting Materials Co., Ltd.

Interviewee: Zhang Ming from Product Center

Q1: What motivated you to focus deeply on the painting materials industry initially? 

The decision to dedicate myself to the painting materials industry stems from Marie, which represents not just a career, but also a sentiment deeply rooted in my personal growth memories. As a post-80s native who grew up in the alleyways of Shanghai, my artistic enlightenment is closely intertwined with the Marie brand. Is there any child of my generation in Shanghai who didn't have a box of Marie pigments in their art class schoolbag?

The founding of the Marie brand was driven by the founders' patriotism and aspiration to revitalize the nation through industry. It came into being to break the monopoly of foreign brands in the Western painting pigments market at that time, which had led to exorbitant prices, enabling Chinese students learning Western painting to access and afford pigments of their own country. Upholding the original aspiration of "achieving immediate success and benefiting the nation and its people", ten founders including Zhang Yuguang raised funds to establish the Marie Craft Factory in Shanghai in 1919. They produced China's first tube of poster color, pioneering the country's national fine art pigment industry.

Q2: As a time-honored painting materials enterprise, how has the company rejuvenated its century-old brand? What attempts has it made in product design and development in recent years?

In recent years, Marie has actively promoted the rejuvenation of its century-old brand, mainly through the following initiatives:

1. Cross-border Collaboration and Spatial Renovation

A landmark move in Marie's brand rejuvenation drive is the transformation of the old factory building at No. 3300 West Yan'an Road into a multi-functional landmark integrating art, fashion and lifestyle. This is not merely a physical space upgrade, but also a strategic fulcrum for the brand to engage in in-depth communication with the new generation of consumers.

Marie has successfully built a "dopamine" art block that has become a must-visit check-in spot for young people across the city. Far from a traditional painting materials store, it integrates a Marie painting materials experience center, a color-themed café, art exhibition spaces, creative workshops and other diverse formats. The building's exterior and interior design boldly adopt the brand's products for wall painting, creating a strong visual impact and immersive color experience, allowing the century-old brand to integrate into the daily life and social activities of contemporary young people in a vibrant and trendy manner.

2. Product Innovation and IP Development

Marie has launched high-end product series that incorporate traditional Chinese culture. For instance, the "Prosperous Dunhuang" series of art products draws inspiration from Dunhuang murals, condensing the millennia-old color palette of Dunhuang into modern painting materials.

The company has developed a series of products featuring traditional Chinese colors, such as "Four Seasons of Jiangnan", "Magnificent Snowy Plateau" and "Rolling Yellow River". It has also carried out cross-border co-branding projects with prestigious institutions like the Site of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the Shanghai Library to launch a range of cultural and creative products, infusing the brand with cultural and scholarly appeal by leveraging well-known IPs.

Marie has created virtual characters and Q-version IP images, such as "Ma Xiaoli" and "Ma Mali Li", to communicate with the new generation of consumers through a younger and more digital-friendly brand persona.

3. Event Interaction and Concept Communication

Marie hosts public color-themed events and pop-up stores. For example, centering on the concept of "integrating art into daily life", it joined hands with Warrior to launch the "Poetry and Painting on Shoes" co-creation campaign. The collaboration between the two brands (both with "Li" in their names) showcased the beauty of national colors through joint creation. In 2025, Marie also built the "Marie Super Fun" zero-carbon pop-up space themed "I Am Color · Refuse to Be Tinted". Constructed entirely from 100% recyclable honeycomb cardboard, this limited-time art playground engaged with Generation Z, parent-child families and other groups.

Q3: With increasingly stringent restrictions on lead and cadmium content in the painting materials industry, how does Marie balance color saturation and environmental protection standards?

Marie fully supports the strict regulations on lead and cadmium limits. As a leading enterprise in the industry, Marie has always focused on the research and development of eco-friendly painting materials. Many years ago, it began upgrading materials through technological innovation. Even without the mandatory requirements of the lead and cadmium restrictions, Marie has consistently strived to enhance the safety and environmental friendliness of its products. The company continues to respond to market demands through ongoing technological upgrades and the innovation of eco-friendly materials:

Marie has obtained ISO 9001 Quality Management System Certification and ISO 14001 Environmental Management System Certification. It strictly complies with national standards in production and operation and has established a comprehensive quality control system.

In product R&D, Marie is committed to using more natural raw materials. It has launched new products such as biodegradable tube packaging and semi-moist solid watercolors. By reducing VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) emissions, the company realizes green production. While retaining its core strength of "high quality at an affordable price", Marie is defining the environmental protection standards for a new generation of professional painting materials.

Q4: Beyond professional art supply channels, in which new scenarios (such as digital painting peripherals, stationery for bullet journaling, and the wellness economy) is Marie exploring growth opportunities? 

Marie is transforming from a traditional supplier of professional painting materials into a broader "co-creator of an artistic life", seeking new growth drivers in emerging scenarios:

1. Children's Aesthetic Education and Parent-Child Market:

Targeting parent-child families and Generation Z, Marie has launched products such as co-branded children's watercolor pans with artists, and designed interactive activities tailored to these groups at offline pop-up events.

2. Artistic Lifestyle and Trendy Cultural and Creative Products:

Through spaces like the Marie Art Block, which cover a variety of formats including art exhibitions, handicraft workshops, home living products and art derivatives, Marie integrates color aesthetics into daily life.

3. Urban Public Art and Community Development:

Through community wall painting projects and participation in public art festivals, Marie brings the vibrancy of colors to every corner of the city.

Q5: What are Marie's expectations for the 120^th China Stationery Fair (CSF)? 

As a leading enterprise and regular exhibitor in the industry, Marie has the following expectations for the 120^th CSF in 2026:

1. Showcasing the Brand's New Image:

Leveraging this highly influential industry platform to present to global merchants Marie's latest achievements in brand rejuvenation, the incorporation of national fashion elements and the development of eco-friendly products.

2. Launching Trends and New Products:

CSF has long been Marie's preferred platform for new product launches. The company expects to unveil its latest products featuring traditional Chinese colors and eco-friendly materials at the fair, further leading the industry trends.

3. Deepening Industry Exchange and Cooperation:

Taking advantage of the fair's role as a gathering place for the entire industrial chain, Marie aims to conduct in-depth exchanges with upstream and downstream partners, artists, educational institutions and other stakeholders, exploring more possibilities for cross-border collaboration.

About Marie:

Shanghai Marie's Painting Materials Co., Ltd. is a professional manufacturer and distributor of fine art pigments and a comprehensive range of supporting painting materials with a long history in China. On May 9, 1919, the renowned painter and co-founder of the Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts, Mr. Zhang Yuguang, together with nine other painters and entrepreneurs, founded the "Marie" brand of fine art pigments. In 2011, Marie was recognized as a "China Time-Honored Brand" by the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China.

The "Marie" brand is among the first batch of "Famous Trademarks of Shanghai". Since 1995, Marie's products have been consecutively awarded the title of "Famous Brand Products of Shanghai". In June 2018, Marie's traditional Chinese painting pigments passed the certification for the first batch of "Shanghai Brands". In December 2020, Maries's watercolor, oil and acrylic pigments also obtained the "Shanghai Brand" Certification.