Due Dill-igence 🥒

In this week’s Substack we’re taking you behind the scenes of e.l.f.’s latest product launch that centers on all things pickle. e.l.f. Cosmetics’ Glow Reviver Melting Lip Balm now comes in three limited-edition pickle flavors: Real Dill, e.l.f. von Dill and Spicy Lil’ Dill. For some extra fun, they even created a pickle-themed makeup sponge. Meet Kelsey Shellito and Holly Nguyen, who are on e.l.f.’s innovation team and played a big part in bringing this new line to life. From traveling to Germany to try a wide assortment of pickles to personally testing more versions of a lip gloss in a day than most do in a lifetime, their dedication and due dill-igence are a testament to how seriously our products are researched before hitting the market, as well as your purses, bags and shelves. We hope you enjoy and relish reading this interview even half as much as we did talking about it!

This space is for every eye, lip and face! 👁️💄🙂

Due Dill-igence:

How did you recognize the pickle trend as something worth building a whole launch and campaign around versus it just being a one-off trend?

Kelsey: Pickle was popping up everywhere in our social feeds, from pickle flavored snacks to fast food menus. I think we even saw an April Fool’s joke post of a pickle lip balm and the community was begging for it to be real so we knew that e.l.f. had to bring it to life. When we saw the initial reaction to our first pickle drop, the excitement from the community and our retail partners really led to the possibility of bringing e.l.f.’s pickle collection to the masses.

Holly: We’re always looking to the food industry for inspiration. They have a unique ability to set trends that eventually trickle down into beauty and cosmetics. When we were working on this project, pickles were everywhere. We were seeing them pop up across fast food menus, like fried pickles at Popeyes. So, we definitely take a lot of inspiration from the food industry and love seeing how those trends can translate into beauty in unexpected ways.

When you saw the first launch sellout in eight minutes, what was the internal reaction?

Kelsey: We were excited! We immediately knew the people needed more pickles and that we should order more because it sold out so quickly. Also, we saw demand in international markets, so we wanted to think globally for this next iteration, because the pickle craze was everywhere.

e.l.f.’s Chief Brand Officer, Laurie Lam, mentioned that your team moved at e.l.f. speed and started testing new flavors within weeks of the first drop. What did that timeline actually look like day to day? Also, I heard that there was even travel to Germany, I need to hear more about that!

Kelsey: Yes, all of that is true! It really was all hands-on-deck around the globe. In Oakland HQ, we immediately gathered the innovation and product development teams for a brainstorm on how we could expand the collection and make it even bigger and better. We coincidentally had members of the team traveling in the EU for retail partner meetings and they were able to get real-time insights on how we could incorporate a global mindset for the next iteration of the collection, which was amazing timing and so critical to this next phase. Turns out pickles are very popular in Germany and are also different from the pickles that we have here in the states. We take our research very seriously so naturally, the team filled up their suitcases with jars of German pickles and brought them home. We ended up hosting a pickle tasting party in the Oakland office and that really played a huge part in identifying the flavor inspiration for one of the new shades in the collection, e.l.f. von Dill.

Holly: While the team was having their pickle tasting in Oakland, I was boots on the ground at our lab. Kelsey and team were giving me real time feedback after trying their pickles like, “e.l.f. von Dill needs to be a little sweeter than OG pickle.” I was able to sit in the lab with our research and development team, taste each version and provide live feedback such as “this needs to be more sour,” or “this needs to be a bit spicier.” Being there in real time with our R&D team made a difference.

How does your team balance moving fast alongside completing all of the necessary safety testing?

Holly: I feel like for us, moving fast never means cutting corners. It’s really about finding ways to work smarter, being hands on, and using the information that we already have. When this project was briefed to us, the timing worked out perfectly because I was already at the lab working on a separate project. That gave us the opportunity to work very quickly and approve the formulas within just two days. We were able to be much more hands-on and make decisions in real time rather than wait for samples to be shipped back and forth. The team’s efforts allowed us to move quickly while still maintaining our safety, stability, and quality standards.

The three shades in this launch include sheer, green pearl and deep red. How did you decide on the shades to go with and what story does each one tell?

Holly: e.l.f. von Dill was inspired by a cornichon. The cornichons that the team saw in Germany have a lighter green tone. I also added a touch of pearl to give it a little more dimension and to pull it apart from The Real Dill. Spicy Lil’ Dill is my personal favorite! Since it’s our take on a spicy pickle, I wanted to make it red to communicate that spicy heat. I didn’t want to lose the connection to pickle, so I added a subtle green pearl so it ties it back to the theme.

The briny blender, which I’m absolutely obsessed with, takes the pickle theme a step further into a beauty sponge. What made your team decide that this launch needed to go beyond just lip products?

Kelsey: The sponge idea actually came out of that initial brainstorm because we really wanted to see where else we could take the collection the second time around. We have seen a bunch of pickle purses, pickle charms, and really any accessory for the pickle lover, so we thought it would be something super fun to add to the collection.

What lesson from this launch will you bring into the next innovation cycle?

Kelsey: No idea is too crazy or too out there for the e.l.f. team. I was so thoroughly impressed by everyone that touched this project; it was all hands-on-deck to turn this around so quickly. We have a team that can honestly accomplish the impossible!

Holly: I think even the craziest ideas can have an audience. You might think, “Is anyone really going to want this?” But there’s always someone out there who will love it.

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