What do e.l.f. Cosmetics and Chipotle Mexican Grill have in common? More than you’d think. Chipotle and e.l.f. are consistently ranked among GenZ’s favorite brands in the U.S. Both brands are also known for unexpected marketing in places like TikTok.

So when we saw social chatter comparing the Chipotle line to an eyeshadow palette, we created a brand experience that no one expected. The campaign was more than a stunt.

Together, e.l.f. and Chipotle co-designed and manufactured tens of thousands of Chipotle-inspired products. The collab changed the way customers experienced both brands and drove massive results.

Chipotle and e.l.f. were two of the first brands on TikTok. Both earned billions of impressions and became some of the most beloved brands among GenZ. Fans on the platform even suggested that e.l.f. and Chipotle should team up.

But a collaboration this unexpected needed a strong insight, so we turned to social and started to see a trend: fans were comparing the Chipotle line (the serving pans located in restaurants) to a makeup palette.

With that spark, we went all in and created a totally new product experience that blended the colors and textures of Chipotle’s ingredients and restaurant into an all new e.l.f. product line.

The Chipotle line is one of the most iconic parts of the brand. So when we saw fans on social media comparing it to a makeup palette, we figured why the e.l.f. not and designed an entire line of makeup products inspired by the restaurant – including a mini Chipotle line eyeshadow palette.

We manufactured thousands of units, sold them online and launched a massive earned campaign to get the word out.

When we revealed the new product line, the connection was instant and fans, influencers, and the press started talking.

We kept the buzz going by partnering with RuPaul’s Drag Race alums Trixie Mattel and Kim Chi, and even sold some of the product on hype shopping channel NTWRK.

The e.l.f. x Chipotle collaboration was inspired by real conversations our fans were having on social about making the iconic Chipotle line into a makeup palette.

To launch this unexpected collaboration we needed to do something big and make it clear that the campaign was no joke.

We carefully designed products to match Chipotle’s restaurant. We created and named 12 eyeshadow shades after Chipotle’s vegan ingredients.

And we added extras like an avocado-shaped makeup sponge, hot salsa lip gloss, and a makeup bag that looked like a tiny bag of Chipotle’s tortilla chips. Then we manufactured thousands of units and sold them to the public.

Leading up to launch day we seeded the product to influencers and editors which helped earn the collaboration over 4 Billion PR impressions and 200M impressions on social.

On launch day, we sold 8K units in under an hour, and then sold out completely.

The production of the e.l.f. x Chipotle collaboration involved marketing, tech, production and supply chain teams. The product was carefully designed to match the Chipotle restaurant experience and tens of thousands of units were produced and sold.

The product was seeded to editors and influencers before it launched and both brands teased the new collection on social. We produced a suite of video and photo assets for the press to release along with the news.

At launch the brands partnered with iconic drag queen stars Trixie Mattel and Kim Chi, who created a 10-min YouTube video featuring them trying on the full collection and eating Chipotle. TikTok influencers were also tapped to show off the collection and build buzz for the online release.

After the product sold out online, the brands kept the buzz going by partnering with GenZ live shopping channel NTWRK to drop a limited supply.

The collaboration drove more PR and social buzz than any campaign in Chipotle or e.l.f. brand history.

The product sold more than 8,000 units in the first hour. Then sold out and began reselling on Ebay at a 500% markup.

Influencers and fans drove 200 million impressions across social channels, and Trixie and Kim Chi’s YouTube video became one of their highest performing ever – reaching #19 on the YouTube Trending chart.

The collaboration earned 4 billion PR impressions.