Jacine Greenwood-Drummond | The CEO Magazine

The cosmetics industry makes many claims including the ability to cleanse, tone, enrich and visibly de-age. But few products do all at once and some don’t even achieve their stated purpose particularly well.

This drew the ire of Jacine Greenwood-Drummond, whose ultra-sensitive skin wasn’t catered to by the cosmetics on the shelf. To create a formula for her and the millions in the same boat, she founded Roccoco Botanicals, a cosmetics firm with a difference.

Greenwood-Drummond dedication to different has won the brand a legion of fans around the world and scored her a place among the finalists in the Consumer and Lifestyle category at The CEO Magazine’s 2026 Executive of the Year Awards – Australia.

Spot the difference

One of Roccoco Botanicals’ strengths is the versatility of its products, something Greenwood-Drummond has been committed to since the beginning.

“Multitasking is a huge trend at the moment, but we’ve always done it,” she says.

“I don’t know of a single person who only has one problem with their skin. They generally have a few things going on, so we’ve deliberately made our products multifunctional.”

From Ruby Crystal Cleanser to Blueberry AGE Cream and the Eruption Emulsion moisturizer, the Roccoco Botanicals range infuses its formulas with a high-end look and feel.

Behind the scenes, however, these products are treating skin health as well as boosting cosmetic appeal. And it is a winning formula: the brand has recently been snapped up by new owners ready to take it to new heights.

Greenwood-Drummond has had a front seat to the evolution of cosmetics and personal care products over the years.

“The industry is starting to change,” she says. “It used to be your lip tint and cheek tint would be two separate products, but now you’re likely to see them combined.”

Ahead of the pack

The company’s focus on innovation has been there from the beginning and Greenwood-Drummond says she often finds her business in a league of its own.

“Body products are becoming bigger right now and that’s interesting because we’d been doing those for a long time,” she says. “I generally don’t realize I’m ahead of the curve until I see an article and it comes up.”

The accolades are another good reminder. To date, Rococo Botanicals is the only Australian cosmetic brand ever to win an Allē Award.

“They’re like the Oscars of cosmetic innovation,” she explains. “We’ve won three times now. We often think innovation only happens overseas and as Australians, we can forget the talent we have in our own backyard.”

This year marks Greenwood-Drummond’s first nomination at The CEO Magazine’s gala awards event, vying for the title of Consumer and Lifestyle Executive of the Year. The nomination reflects the culture of excellence she has cultivated at Roccoco Botanicals ust as much as the brand’s commercial success.

“To me, near enough isn’t good enough, so I encourage the team to be self-sufficient,” she says. “I say to them, ‘Tell me what the problem is and tell me what you would do.’

“If we don’t get people to think for themselves, we’ll never grow the next generation of leaders.”

Leading by example

Much of Greenwood-Drummond’s can-do attitude comes from her time in the military, experience that instilled in her that it’s not fair to ask of others what you are not willing to do yourself.

“Your people don’t always watch what you say, but they do watch what you do,” she points out. “When we’ve had lows, my team has looked to me to see if I’m stressed. If I’m not, they’re calm.”

And calm is a valuable currency at Roccoco Botanicals. Greenwood-Drummond says she’s learned to walk away if something’s not clicking and try again with a calmer, clearer state of mind.

“I’d have been doing something for five hours instead of resting. I save it, walk away, then come back in the morning and do the same work in 20 minutes. I’ve learned to stop because it’s just not worth it.”

While the new owners have grand plans to make Roccoco Botanicals even bigger overseas, Greenwood-Drummond hopes there’ll be a greater recognition of the brand’s virtues at home.

“I’m excited to see an Australian brand get bigger in the market because there’s only a handful at the moment, but I’m looking forward to becoming an Australian household name,” she says. “We’re better known overseas than we are in Australia.

“It’s a huge honor to be a finalist. To be acknowledged for leadership is a huge thing because leadership can make or break a company.”

With so much success coming to the company she made, Greenwood-Drummond says her story is a testament to self-belief.

“You have to believe in yourself, especially if you’re heading into uncharted territory.”