Taylor Swift Sparked $1M Sales Surge for Fazit

For Aliett Buttelman, the evening of October 2024 began with a routine hot yoga class. By the time she returned home, her life—and her company—had irrevocably changed. While scrolling through social media, she saw a message from a content creator with a single, life-altering image: Taylor Swift wearing Fazit's glitter freckles during Monday Night Football.

The moment was not a stroke of luck, but the result of a calculated strategy. Buttelman and her co-founder, Nina LaBruna, had spent months targeting the artist's inner circle. Seeing their product on the world's biggest pop star validated years of hard work, but it also signaled the start of a frantic, high-stakes race to keep up with demand.

Buttelman and LaBruna launched Fazit three years ago, initially entering the skincare patch market before pivoting to cosmetics. In April 2024, they introduced glitter freckles—makeup patches designed to add sparkling spots to cheekbones. The product was an instant hit, selling 100,000 units in its first week alone.

Recognizing Taylor Swift as the ultimate brand ambassador, the founders executed a targeted campaign to get their product into her hands. Their approach was multi-faceted and deliberate:

• Sending samples to Kansas City Chiefs players' wives and partners
• Reaching out to Swift's personal makeup artists
• Connecting with Sabrina Carpenter, who was opening for Swift on tour

They felt Swift embodied the playful, creative essence of the glitter freckles. "There would be no one better in the world to wear it," Buttelman reflected. The strategy was designed to create multiple touchpoints, increasing the odds of visibility.

When the photos surfaced from the Chiefs game, the founders sprang into immediate action. While the public recognized the product, they didn't know the brand behind it. Buttelman began contacting media outlets and hired a publicist, landing appearances on CBS and Peacock the very next day.

Behind the scenes, LaBruna was managing the operational explosion. The company had to double its warehouse space overnight to handle the influx. The financial impact was staggering:

• Generated seven figures in sales within 48 hours
• Web traffic increased by 4,800%
• Shipping labels printed nonstop as orders flooded in

"We immediately got to work," Buttelman noted. The team, which previously consisted of just three people, had to call on friends and family to help fulfill the overwhelming number of orders.

Before the Swift effect, Fazit's financial outlook was precarious. The company was bootstrapped with $13,000 of the founders' personal savings, later raising $200,000 from friends and family. By the fall of 2024, they had only enough cash on hand to operate for approximately five more months.

The viral moment completely altered their trajectory. The sudden profitability meant they did not need to seek emergency funding from private equity or venture capital firms that began reaching out. For the first time, Buttelman and LaBruna were able to take a distribution from the business.

"We have a business that is so profitable and healthy that we can really focus on the next stage of growth."

The revenue surge provided a financial cushion, transforming a struggling startup into a stable, self-sustaining enterprise.

The year following the viral incident has been defined by a "fight or flight" response. Even a year later, when Swift wore the freckles again, the boost in sales was significant, though the company was better prepared for the demand.

The intense experience has fundamentally changed the relationship between the co-founders. While they weren't friends when they started the business, they are now life partners.

"We're closer than friends—we're family. No one, with the possible exception of our husbands, can truly understand what it's like to go through this hyper growth."

The journey has been marked by extreme emotional highs and lows. The founders remain focused on capitalizing on opportunities and making strategic decisions to ensure long-term success.

The story of Fazit illustrates the power of celebrity endorsement combined with strategic preparation. While the viral moment provided the spark, the founders' readiness to scale was what allowed them to capture the value.

Key factors in their success included:

• A pre-existing viral product with proven market fit
• Aggressive media outreach immediately following the sighting
• Operational flexibility to double warehouse capacity overnight
• Financial discipline that allowed them to retain equity

Ultimately, the transformation from a small, bootstrapped operation to a profitable brand highlights how a single moment of visibility can redefine a company's future.