Last update on: 9:32 am July 24, 2024 by fashionabc

New York City-based e.l.f. Cosmetics expands its collaboration with Roblox, making it the first beauty brand to test real-world commerce on Roblox1, powered by Walmart. The initiative is not surprising, given the brand’s presence in digital media, NFTs and video challenge competitions on TikTok. 

e.l.f. Cosmetics expands its collaboration with Roblox. Image: e.l.f.

The pace of creativity and digital innovation is rapidly increasing in the beauty industry and there is a race among brands to innovate and stay ahead of the curve. e.l.f. has a strong, growing brand presence on Roblox, solidifying its recognition among Gen Alpha gamers. Now, it has created a virtual kiosk within its immersive e.l.f. UP! experience on Roblox, where U.S. visitors aged 13+ can purchase a Roblox-exclusive limited-edition physical UP! Pets Hoodie, celebrating the beauty brand’s commitment to being cruelty free. 

On sale at the e.l.f. UP! experience virtual kiosk — developed by e.l.f. in partnership with eGen and Supersocial — is a curated selection of beauty products including Squeeze Me Lip Balm, Glow Reviver Lip Oils and Suntouchable Whoa Glow SPF 30. And, users who purchase these items will receive a virtual twin, available for use on Roblox.

Since its launch, the e.l.f. UP! experience on Roblox has garnered 96 per cent positivity rating and has given over a million free virtual items to Roblox users. “e.l.f. UP! has been lightning in a bottle since day one and continues to surpass all expectations, especially among our Gen Z community,” said Kory Marchisotto, Chief Marketing Officer, e.l.f. Beauty. “Testing commerce on Roblox is the next evolution in our journey of merging beauty with immersive platforms. We are teaching the Roblox community — and communities in digital spaces everywhere — about social commerce with purpose. Our community deeply values our superpower of cruelty-free products.”

“e.l.f. continues to break new ground on Roblox with its thoughtful iterations to the community experience and exclusive offerings tailored to our platform,” said Stephanie Latham, VP of global brand partnerships, Roblox. “Our vision is to ultimately enable brands and creators to turn their incredible brand affinity and user engagement on the platform into a seamless shopping experience for their new and existing audiences.”

Growing markets for e.l.f. Beauty Inc.

e.l.f. Beauty, Inc. builds brands designed to disrupt norms, shape culture and connect communities through positivity, inclusivity and accessibility. A digitally disruptive brand, it was launched in 2004 selling premium-quality makeup for $1 online. Today, it has five visionary, purpose-driven brands, including e.l.f. Cosmetics, e.l.f. SKIN, Naturium, Well People and Keys Soulcare. With a focus on clean, cruelty free and vegan products, it is also the first beauty company with a Fair Trade™ certified manufacturing facility. e.l.f. Beauty brands are sold online and at leading beauty, mass market, and specialty retailers in the U.S. and overseas.

For the three months ended March 31, 2024, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2023, the brand witnessed sales increase 71 per cent to $321.1 million, primarily driven by strength across its retailer and e-commerce channels, per reports on the brand’s official website. The company’s most successful year till date was achieved through strategic global growth, the development of a dynamic digital marketing approach, and key acquisitions.

“Fiscal 2024 marked our strongest year of net sales growth on record, a continuation of the exceptional, consistent, category-leading growth we’ve delivered,” said Tarang Amin, e.l.f. Beauty’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “In Q4, we grew net sales by 71 per cent and expanded our market share by 325 basis points, marking our twenty-first consecutive quarter of net sales and market share growth. As we look ahead, we believe we are still in the early innings of unlocking the full potential we see for e.l.f. Beauty across cosmetics, skin care and international markets.”

Express Your e.l.f. campaign 

e.l.f. Cosmetics unveiled its most inclusive UK-led campaign in 2023 to encourage its community to “boldly express themselves in their own extraordinary way”. Interestingly, the “express your e.l.f.” movement was created using answers from the beauty brand’s UK community when asked “what e.l.f. means”. It was supported by a video and an OOH campaign, promoting “express your e.l.f.” across different formats and communities.

express your e.l.f.. Image: e.l.f.

“This is the brand’s biggest and most inclusive UK-led brand campaign yet,” e.l.f. Cosmetics revealed. “The movement celebrates the beauty of every eye, lip and face in an impactful, fun and cheeky way to bring meaning and clarity to the acronym e.l.f. and position it at the heart of a new movement in beauty culture to express your e.l.f.”

e.l.f. Cosmetics celebrated the campaign launch with a pop-up at 146 Brick Lane in London, and offered the “ultimate e.l.f. experience”. The immersive space allowed guests to try-out makeup looks with the brand’s artistry team, as well as access various photo opportunities. In addition to offering exclusive merchandise and a collection of products across e.l.f. Cosmetics’ vegan and cruelty-free portfolio.