E.l.f. Beauty is leveraging the viral success of Oliver Widger and teaming up with the social media personality known for sailing from Oregon to Hawaiʻi with his cat, a trip he completed on May 24. The partnership consists of several activations, including a Roblox-based initiative meant to inspire consumers with his story, according to a press release.
At the heart of the partnership is the “Sailing with Phoenix” game jam, named in honor of Widger’s cat. A game jam is an event where developers work over the course of a set time frame, usually 24-72 hours, to produce a new experience. The game jam will focus on Roblox, a platform E.l.f. has utilized in the past. No details on when it will take place were provided.
The jam is just one component of E.l.f.’s tie-up with Widger. During his time at sea, the cosmetic brand air-dropped him a care package. The drop was made in partnership with Aloft, a nonprofit dedicated to aviators. After landing in Waikiki, Hawaiʻi, Widger joined the brand on a Twitch livestream.
Widger’s sailing journey began when he quit his job after being diagnosed with Klippel-Feil syndrome, a rare disorder where two or more bones in the neck, the cervical vertebrae, are fused together. He currently has 1.9 million Instagram followers and 1.3 million TikTok followers.
E.l.f. Beauty, which has jumped on social media trends in the past, posted revenue of $355.32 million, a 31.14% year-over-year increase, in its fiscal Q3 2025. The growth was largely attributed to the strength of its retail and e-commerce channels both in and outside of the U.S.
