60 Seconds to Sellout: How Maureen Kelly Built tarte's Fastest-Selling Collab alongside Roller Rabbit
More than half of collab shoppers were new to tarte, the highest new-customer rate of any tarte collaboration
NEW YORK, Nov. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Three years ago, tarte founder and CEO Maureen Kelly had a vision: an all-ages slumber party where you're swapping secrets in matching pajamas and doing your makeup next to your best friends. She brought it to life with Roller Rabbit, the lifestyle brand's very first foray into makeup, and the concept proved to be a dream. When the collection went live on tarte.com on October 1, both limited-edition bundles were snapped up in a single minute, the quickest any tarte collab has ever sold.
The Opportunity
tarte and Roller Rabbit came together around a shared celebration of girlhood, and the idea that you never outgrow getting ready and having sleepovers with your girls. With highly engaged communities spanning generations, the partnership created an opportunity to tap into the nostalgia of those rituals while reimagining them for today's consumer.
The result was a collection with true multigenerational appeal. Moms shopped for their daughters and themselves so they could match, showing a clear representation from Gen X/millenials at 87%. While Gen Z/Gen A, who many of which set multiple alarms to be sure to get the collection, embraced the drop as a collectible, limited-edition moment from two brands they already know and love, representing 11% of collaboration shoppers.
The brands set out to create the kind of moment fans line up for, a must-have, limited-edition release that built anticipation from the first tease and made launch day feel like an event. The collection was designed to spark organic social conversation, especially on TikTok, reaching beyond tarte's existing audience.
"We set out to build a world around tarte x Roller Rabbit, one where sleepover nostalgia meets the GRWM rituals of girlhood today. Every detail was designed to make that world feel real to both brands' communities. It became our most anticipated collaboration to date, driving a 250% increase in site traffic, drawing a 30,000-person waitlist in 24 hours and selling out the bundles in one minute. That's the power of giving people a story they want to step into." Maureen Kelly, CEO / Founder, tarte cosmetics
The Collaboration
The tarte x Roller Rabbit collection blended both brands' worlds through a custom print combining a curated collection of tarte's viral products and a lineup of Roller Rabbit's pajamas and accessories. Launched on October 1, the collaboration spanned both brands' websites and in store locations nationwide, the collection invited consumers to build their own ultimate girls' night in, bringing beauty, fashion, nostalgia, and friendship together in one limited-edition drop.
On tarte.com, the collection featured five products: tarte x Roller Rabbit maracuja juicy lip vinyl ($27), tarte x Roller Rabbit tartelette tubing mascara ($28), tarte x Roller Rabbit freckle stamp ($26), tarte x Roller Rabbit makeup bag ($38), and the tarte x Roller Rabbit eye mask ($28), each dressed in the custom print . The collab bundles, tarte x Roller Rabbit best-sellers set ($38, $93 value) and the tarte x Roller Rabbit #1 mascara set ($28, $56 value), were designed to be giftable, collectible, and easy to share, making them a natural fit for moms and daughters shopping together.
Three years in the making, the collaboration brought both brands' creative teams together from concept to final packaging to make sure every detail felt true to both. The result was a collection that looked as good on a vanity or in a TikTok GRWM as it did on a shelf, and that made matching with mom, or with a friend, easy. The ultimate nod to sleepovers and girlhood!
The Strategy
tarte and Roller Rabbit built the launch to create anticipation, reward early fans, and pull in shoppers from both brands' communities, with a plan designed to reach every generation.
It started with a few well-placed Easter eggs. tarte popped up at Roller Rabbit events all summer long, quietly sparking speculation. Before the collaboration was even announced, fans in the comments were already asking for it.
Then the tease turned into a frenzy. The official countdown began one week before the October 1 launch, with the brands teasing the collection across social, previewing the prints, and inviting fans to sign up for early access. Fans and creators immediately lost it. More than 30,000 people joined the waitlist in the first 24 hours, and brand fans began posting deep dives into the collection before it even dropped. It was drop culture at its best.
The brands also rewarded the community that built the hype. The day before launch, tarte and Roller Rabbit gave six fans the chance to win the entire collection, from the pajamas to the freckle stamp, putting the community at the center of the moment.
Because the collection was built to be shared, tarte put creators and TikTok at the center of the rollout. Roller Rabbit store events across the country brought the collection to life in person, with creators including Allison Kuch and Kaylor Martin attending. The brand also seeded the collection to creators across socials, including beauty creators, mom and daughter duos, lifestyle and fashion creators, and Roller Rabbit fans. The approach leaned into get-ready-with-me content, which helped the collection find its way to Gen Alpha and Gen Z audiences.
The Results
Demand was immediate. Collab bundles sold out in just 60 seconds, making the tarte x Roller Rabbit collection the fastest-selling collaboration in tarte's history.
The collection also brought a new audience to the brand. More than half of the customers who shopped the collaboration were new to tarte, the highest new-customer rate of any tarte collaboration to date. In total, 55% of collab shoppers were new to the brand.
The internet has not stopped talking about it. Press and Instagram coverage has already racked up more than 9.5 million impressions, and on social, the collab has generated millions of impressions and counting, fueled by creator videos and TikTok GRWMs that keep pouring in. Fans are showing off their prints, matching with their moms and best friends, and sharing the collection everywhere. And the videos are still rolling in.
The Takeaway
tarte x Roller Rabbit was a perfect match from the start: cult-favorite formulas wrapped in iconic prints, and a collection fans were ready to race for. tarte's best-loved formulas, including maracuja juicy lips and tubing mascaras, already had a place on shoppers' vanities. Roller Rabbit's block prints are instantly recognizable and carry a devoted following of their own, and those cult followers want anything wearing the print. That made the collection an easy way in for newcomers, who came to try tarte's #1 tubing mascara because it arrived dressed in Roller Rabbit's signature design. Bringing the two brands together didn't ask anyone to try something unfamiliar. It gave new fans of each brand a new reason to love what they already knew, and gave newcomers an easy, joyful way in.
That recipe worked across generations. Moms and daughters matched, Gen Z collected, and Gen Alpha discovered the prints through TikTok, all drawn to the same nostalgic nod to sleepovers and girlhood. For tarte, the results show the power of partnering with brands that have strong communities and a distinct point of view, and building a launch that lets fans be part of the story. Sold out in 60 seconds, loved across generations, and still going strong, tarte x Roller Rabbit is the collab fans will be talking about for years.
SOURCE tarte cosmetics
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