What are current lead times and pricing for bottle decoration services?

Bottle decoration is currently a tight market with significant lead-time and cost pressures. Members have experienced substantial price increases and extended timelines.

**Current situation:** - Lead times for new product development (NPD) decoration have extended to **6 months** - **Bruni** quoted a 125% price increase, citing inflation despite the actual inflation rate being 2.9% - Members experienced successive price rises: **4% then 11%** in quick succession

**Market context:** - The Yorkshire decoration sector (near Allied and Stoelzle) is experiencing acute labour shortages, with Amazon's local logistics facility offering £18/hour starting wages and drawing workers away - Pallet bottle inserts and protectors face cardboard supply constraints - Decorators currently have significant pricing power in what is described as a "decorators' market"

**Recommendation:** Members should expect current negotiations to favour suppliers and plan NPD timelines accordingly—6 months minimum for decoration lead times appears to be the current baseline.