Chipotle x E.L.F

You’d be hard-pressed to find a more iconic pairing than chips and guac, but Chipotle and e.l.f. Cosmetics might just be a close second. It might seem odd at first glance, but these companies have generated big buzz and big sales both times they’ve worked together. 

How would a collaboration between a beauty company and a fast-casual Mexican food chain work so well? After all, if you told most people you were wearing your favorite Chipotle order, they’d probably ask whether you needed a napkin.

As it turns out, these brands have a lot in common under the foil.

Both brands are disruptors within their respective industries, appealing to young customers in their teens and twenties. Kory Marchisotto, chief marketing officer of e.l.f. Beauty, put it succinctly: “We share the same renegade spirit."

The brands and their fans are also passionate about ingredient quality and sustainability. On this front, e.l.f. is a great partner for Chipotle — they use eco-friendly packaging and their cosmetic ingredients meet the highest standard of ‘clean.’  E.l.f’s transparency helps emphasize Chipotle’s efforts to source organic food and reduce waste in their restaurants. 

The brands kicked off their first collaboration in May of 2020 with a limited-edition 10-piece beauty kit disguised as one of Chipotle’s signature foil-wrapped burritos. Fans of both brands ate it up, with kits selling out in just four minutes.

In 2021, the brands expanded their line with an eyeshadow palette inspired by classic Chipotle ingredients, salsa-themed lip gloss, and an avocado-shaped face sponge set. The collection also included a makeup carrier disguised as one of Chipotle’s chip bags.

The bag's name – Eyes Chips Face  – is a nod to e.l.f.’s viral TikTok hit, “Eyes. Lips. Face.”, which was itself an awareness campaign masquerading as a collaboration between e.l.f. and artists Holla FyeSixWun and iLL Wayno. The duo even remixed their original track to highlight the Chipotle collaboration.

Chipotle’s clever playfulness rubs off on e.l.f., allowing them to show fans a different side of their typically sophisticated brand image. They even teased their 2021 collab with a cheeky tweet to their shared audience:

To further drive home e.l.f. and Chipotle’s shared commitment to plant-based lifestyles and responsibly-sourced products, Chipotle offered the all-vegan “Eyes. Chips. Face.” Bowl during their second collaboration. They also gave free chips and guac to anyone who purchased the eyeshadow palette.

This collaboration is a masterclass in leveraging a partner’s strengths to engage a shared audience in new ways. It delivers a win that’s almost as sweet as your cashier forgetting to charge for double protein in your burrito bowl.