How a Skincare Innovator Built a Global Beauty Empire

So if you don't want to go and have Botox or Phyllis,

“if you don't want to go and have plastic surgery,”

what can I create in a jar that outperforms? What is currently out there? So we've got treatments that we have developed for acne that are outperforming lasers. Jason Greenwood is an award-winning cosmetic chemist

in the founder of Rococo Botanicals. Recognize globally for her expertise in acne, inflammation, and skin health. Her innovative research and formulations have helped shape modern skincare solutions worldwide.

Two weeks after next surgery, when I should have been lying down and I wanted to vomit because of the pain. And I had to take control of the company again because the staff were just not focused

on what they were doing. And we got through it.

I've always found that when we have those sort of crisisers,

your leadership skills just jump to another level. It spans the globe. Like a super high school. Internet elders. Ready.

All right.

“In today, Apple is going to reinvent the phone.”

It's not over. I'm telling how weird. The living-your-legacy podcast for those who live to leave a legacy. That's a strong way.

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You can live your dreams. Hello and welcome back to another episode of Legacy Maker's TV. Today, we're going to talk all about skincare, our impact about global domination, about creating

amazing product that wins global awards.

Here with JC in the studio, welcome to the show. Thank you, Rudy. So a big episode to dive into. You've grown one of the biggest skincare companies in Australia. One of the most well-known products in skinlines around the world,

basically, especially from the innovation product development. Side, I know you've won a ton of awards. And you're a very successful entrepreneur. But if someone doesn't know you, do you mind talking about the summary of the journey

over the last few years, build in this brand? So the brand we started about 10, 12 years ago, actually, now. And it started at my kitchen sink. And we've gone on to starting with a stick blender to now having a full run production facility.

And we are now in four countries about to go on to a fifth this year with India on the horizon, which is going to be the biggest as far as commerce goes, the biggest market to ever be in, like even bigger than Asia.

So yeah, we've grown massively, even in the last three months, we've picked up 77 new clinics in the last three months. And over a thousand new retail customers. So everything's starting to go like this again, which is-- Yeah, and I know you've won a ton of awards,

ton of prayers in Australia, it's super well-known for sure. You flew in last night, right? So you're a little jet lagged in flight. But you know, talk about the awards and how big it is over there.

So we really made our math when we first got in the AFR 100,

which is the Australian financial review fast 100. And after that, it was actually funny. Our bank actually set up and took notice of us. And then we got in the financial times high growth, 22 and 23.

And those awards are not easy to get into, because it's four years of rapid growth. And it's really easy to have one big year of rapid growth. But to do it for four or five years consecutively is massive. So that's sort of what put us on the radar.

22, we were the first company ever in Australia in 25 years to win the LA awards. They were formally known as the R&D awards. And it recognizes cosmetic innovation and ingenuity. And so no one had ever won it.

And we put in front and we won. So we made history. We're not only made history for Australia, but there was no other skincare line that sold in Salons, that is skincare,

that has everyone that award either. So we were the first ever professional skincare brand. And we've not only done it once now, we've done it twice, 'cause we won again last year. And I'm waiting to hear, but I'm a finalist again,

for this year, the third year in a row. So I'll find out on the 12th of March, if I've won again. - Good, well, fingers crossed. And I know you calm the lecturers just launched a line

and you're in the manufacturing behind that.

“And you as an individual are a bit of a scientist too, right?”

So can you talk about the manufacturing side?

we always look at how can we do it differently,

“how can we create something unique on the market?”

And because the cosmetic industry is saturated, so you don't ever want to be in the two product. Otherwise it's too hard to differentiate. So the way that we differentiate is through using really unique actors and creating a great marketing story

and filling gaps that way. As far as manufacturing journey, whenever we've looked at expansion, so when we moved into our warehouse, for example, we went three times bigger than our previous ones

'cause we had two because on you, we would grow. And when we first moved in there, I thought we'd never fill it. And I have just about filled every section of it. And just as well, because like when we knew calm and electorate

was coming on board, we fully fitted out an automatic line because on you, that we would need it. And the same, we've just ordered a sachet machine because you know, when things go into Sephora, they want animals.

And that needs to be scaled to be able to do that by the thousands per hour, not doing anything by hand.

So we've always looked at that and gone,

how do we scale this out for global expansion? - And I think most people when they think of a skincare line or launch product, they're like, just white labeling or getting it from a warehouse, right? They're a company that does this, but you're actually like

build in the factory, the machinery. And that's like a whole separate business in itself and the money to do that is a lot, right? - Yeah, it is, it's massive, it's massive capital investment. I will say I was really lucky.

You know, my husband David, his background's manufacturing. I mean, one of the chances, yeah. But yeah, like it is, it's a huge investment, but I also know that it will have a massive payoff. And the advantage of us manufacturing it ourselves

is the IP. - Yeah. - So it's ours, it's a scalable business. So we're building an asset for the future whereas white label, there is no asset, really.

It's, yes, you get your wallet.

“- Yeah, you need to have a good branding”

and maybe marketing skills for that, right? - Absolutely, absolutely. - Yeah, yeah, so, how did you get into all this? What's the backstory? - So for me, like, if you have told me at 16,

I'd end up being a chemist, I would have laughed. For me, it was just frustration with my own skin. We couldn't find anything on the market. And I thought, surely, it can't be this hard to find skincare that works for me

because I was acne-pronent sensitive. And so, that's actually what was the impetus for me, starving this brand. Like, I just couldn't see anything on the market. And so, when I first started,

like, my products were nothing flashed. I mean, the labels were done on the computer. They used to rub off. And yet, people bought it and they raved about it. And so, we just kept growing.

And the great thing that has come with the growth is the growth has enabled the innovation. Because some of the cosmetic actors that we use now,

I would never have had access to it.

I was small, because I don't sell for small companies. So, we are using ingredients that Chanel use. That estate order use, that aren't available to purchase in small quantities. And so, that has made a massive difference

as we've grown a company, two our results and what we're capable of producing. And that's why a lot of the brands, when they start, like, a lot of the indie brands, they don't compare or compete with your bigger brands.

Because they don't have access to the same collection of young materials.

“So, I think we crossed that threshold around,”

put me around the three million mark where, ask hope of what we could actually play with, completely changed. So, let's talk about that. Because I think the interesting part you said there was about,

you didn't start that way. And you said the kitchen started in the kitchen, seeing bottles, the labels were rubin' off. And I think as entrepreneurs, like, a lot of people fail because they have this perfectionist syndrome to start,

but, like, all the, you see the famous Jeff Bezos and his garage with the Amazon side, right? Like, that's the trend, Mark Zuckerberg, if you've watched the Facebook movie, right? Like, they're in the dorm room just code in, right?

Like, that's the entrepreneurship, it's finance. So, if someone's listening, how do they get started and get going like that? - So, to me, I would just start with a couple of products and don't overthink it and don't be a perfectionist

because, you know, the problem I see with a lot of entrepreneurs is they want to have everything perfect.

And they haven't even tested the product.

“Like, is there even a demand for this product on the market?”

So, you don't want to go be wasting money on stuff like that, that's not important. You're better off seeing what the market says about the product and scaling up from there, because then you actually know

where you've really got market to product fit. - It's wasted energy and talking about the market. - Yeah, I have a great story to illustrate that. So, back in college, I was a person trainer, had a good local clinic, but I wanted to go online.

So, I paid this big website company in the UK, like $5,000, which 15 years ago in the UK, it was a lot of money, like, they did the website for like, Jaguar and the big brands, right? And I spent six months with them building this fitness

membership site. And then I spent another six months bright in all the modules and hiring students and paying them to do hundreds of recipes. And anyway, I remember I traveled Europe all summer

for a month with my girlfriend at the time. And the whole month, I was just working on all this course content.

And anyway, yeah, later, I never launched it.

“So, I wasted, you know, 20 year old college student, right?”

Thousands of dollars of money I'd saved from my personal training business, hundreds of hours of building this, and I never launched it, right? And now it's the total flip side that we can make 100, 200 grand from a sales page

and a good idea and a concept and then build around it. And it's just like, full free 60. So, like, if you ever, like, you know, have that experience where now you're preselling products or like, I'm, I do it consistently,

not so much with products, but with programs. So, when my husband and I bought our house, I sold a course. I hadn't even written. - Yeah. - And I sold it for,

I think it was $1,000 at the time, and we ended up getting enough for our house deposit. And I've just done it again. - Yeah, yeah. - I sold a 12 week acne boot camp. I was four weeks post-back surgery,

'cause I'm 10 weeks now. And I sold it, I did the outline of the course, hadn't written the modules. I'm still only a week ahead and we're up for four. And I sold it all and my staff went, "Have you written it?"

I said, "No, I only have to be a week ahead." And they couldn't believe that I'd done it, because the normal person wants to have everything done before they promote, whereas I go, what's the minimum viable product

that I need to start going? So, the first thing I did with it was I was like, right, I need a course outline. - Yeah. Then I need to do my landing page to promote it. Then I'll worry about doing the webinar,

then I'll worry about writing the course. - Well, then I would add you said the normal person needs that. I would actually say the unsuccessful person needs that. - Correct. - That's what I've learned. Like, you know, and even, you might say,

well, really it's not sustainable. You can't build a big business that way.

But like, the billion dollar brands do it.

Like, Elon Musk sells a car for hundreds, like, you'll sell tens of millions of dollars worth of a car, before he's even made it, you know. And so it's like, you can't say this doesn't work. Like, you know, some people say, "Oh, I only works when you're a small entrepreneur."

It's like, no, Elon Musk literally does it for like a car that goes and makes hundreds of millions of dollars. Like, and it's so true. And then the flip side, if you don't do that, I just saw Apple released a statement

that they spent three years working on electric car.

“And I think they spent like $3 billion to, and they shut the program down.”

So much in spending three years and hundreds of millions, or maybe just $3 billion, I don't remember. And then they said, forget it, we're not doing this anymore. - Wow, yeah. I'm going to test it with the skincare though,

because I think it would be a very interesting concept. - Yeah. - To pre-sell something. - Well, especially when it's now, you're getting to a point with the way out of you can control everything. - Yeah. - I wouldn't you've got the raw ingredients,

you at least know how long it takes. So let's talk about, you know, you've had all this success, tens of millions of dollars and over the years and top skincare company doing it with celebrities now and worldwide.

But what was some of the struggles on the way? - Oh, there's been some really twosies that we've gone through. One of the biggest ones has been staffing, and getting that right. So we had an episode in 22 where I literally

was about to undergo surgery for neck fusion. And my operation is the manager walked out of me. So I had to come back to work two weeks after neck surgery, when I should have been lying down and I wanted to vomit because of the pain.

because the staff were just not focused on what they were doing and we got through it.

And I've always found that when we have those sort of crisisers,

your leadership skills just jump to another level. And each crisis that I've gone through where, you know, any normal person who couldn't actually sustain that level of stress, I suppose is the word, would have just gone, I'm not cut out for this.

Whereas now, like when we won our first Innovation Award, I was in the USA and my entire office staff walked down me. And so I'm overseas trying to run a business and because our phone is void, we just re-deverted the phone to us in the USA

and what else do we do? We still had the warehouse staff downstairs. And you know, so we've gone through a few of those things where it's been really, really challenging. And I sit and look at it now, but I find them more

that I go through that, the less I'm faced. And I remember you saying once that you are on the island, you know, and you are asking questions and you thought, well, you looked at your problems and then you compared them to, you know,

other people's, and you think, well, this is nothing.

Like, business never has a day that it doesn't have problems.

- Yeah, yeah, I mean, over time you grow a thick enough skin where it doesn't really penetrate. And then when something does, it's just like, the skin re-grows a bit thicker and now that doesn't, right? And then if you come like the billionaire owner

where even nothing, you know, they get sued by the government for 500 million. And it's like, okay, I attorney's right a check. Here there we go again, you know, and you almost have this, I imagine Mark Zuckerberg and all these billion

is up this like bank account that's like, government lawsuit fund, you know? And I just like, class action lawsuit fund, okay, here we go again.

“And you have to get that way, 'cause I mean, if not,”

it will destroy a lot, like it will ruin your health, it will keep your way tonight, it will make not fun. And I think it's, 'cause our business is like our baby, it feels like it's a personal attack, right? But you do have to create that separation.

- Yes. - So we talked about, you know, some of these things along the way, if someone's listening to this, you know, they want to start an e-commerce nurse or maybe, you know, beauty, skin, whatever,

how would you tell them to start?

- So my first suggestion is, look for where there's cups

in the market, look where you can do something different, because if you bring out a skincare brand, that's the same as everyone else's, you're really gonna have to be good with your marketing to cut through the noise.

So think of what angle can you do? What hasn't been done? It doesn't even necessarily have to be an innovative or unique product, it needs to be an innovative marketing angle.

“And like, for me, that's what I would be looking at”

how can I create something that's different and just comparing what's on the market, but the other thing as I mentioned in my episode was it's really good to read the complaints of your competitors of their products,

because often you will get ideas on what it is that they haven't met. Like, what need did they not meet? And by reading all of those comments, it can often give you inspiration for doing things differently

or a different product or something similar. - Good, and let's talk about your episode, a little, so you know, you're obviously, you filmed your main one, people might listen to this before or after that's out, what are some things they're gonna learn

and take away and be inspired from your episode? - So, definitely, they will learn that setbacks of part of business. You really just have to learn to pick yourself up and to get over it.

And if you're female in particularly, you're gonna have to grow thick skin, because the more you climb, the more haters you're gonna get. - Because you're a female. - Oh, no, no, you're just obsessed,

but it's harder when you're female. - Yeah, yeah. - Because females tend to be more emotional. - Sure. - Let's be honest with you.

- They're more, maybe more personal. - We take it more personally and also we have that innate need to be accepted by, you know, other females. And so, regrettably, as we climb.

“Like I think the first time I was ever exposed to it”

was probably about seven years ago and I didn't even know what I'd done.

- And now I'm just like immune to it. - Yeah, yeah.

“- And so, yeah, you will have to learn to adapt”

and get over it and realize that it's part of business. You're gonna have to thicken up your skin. And the other thing that they're gonna get out of it is that nothing is impossible. And it doesn't matter what it is.

There's always a way forward.

Whether it be with developing a formula or fixing skin, or whatever it is, and it's more about resourcefulness than it is about your cash flow. - I like it, yeah. - Because everyone goes, "I don't have the money."

- You know where it's made more money. - Exactly, it's not about do you have the money. It's more, how can I do this? - Because the moment you start asking that question, ideas will start coming to you.

- Yeah, love that.

“So last couple of questions around the legacy side.”

Well, what does a legacy mean to you?

- To me, a legacy means after I pass away,

that my name is remembered. And that's what I would like to do. I would like to be known in the industry as a chemist for someone who creates groundbreaking formulas and who's transformed the way people potentially look at skin.

- That was gonna be my next question. Like, what do you want to be remembered for? But I do love that, and what would you say to someone listening that wants to start their legacy? Maybe they've not.

They're not as far ahead as we are, maybe. But they're inspired by this. - My suggestion is to find what really lights you up. What motivates you? What are you passionate about?

Because when you find that, you're never working. - Yeah. - And to me, like, you're just pull the hours to get yourself off the ground.

I think too many people think that you can build a business, working tools for your hours. Wait, that's generally not the case.

“Like, you have to be so in love with what you're doing”

and so passionate about it, that it's like playing. - Yeah. - And when you find that, you're gonna be successful because you're gonna be a master at it. And you're gonna wanna continuously be learning

and upgrading your knowledge, which is where the mastery comes in. - Yeah, totally. So last question is someone's listening and maybe they wanna try the skin product,

who's it for and where do they get some? - So they can purchase online at recoco.com or they can go to our clinics, which is on our clinic finder. But our products are for everyone.

Like, we started with acne and sensitive skins and then we had to break that barrier to go, well, what happens if I just have aging? And so we do everything, but what I love creating is products that challenge the status quo.

So if you don't wanna go and have Botox or fillers, if you don't wanna go and have plastic surgery, what can I create in a jar that outperforms? What is currently out there? So we've got treatments that we have developed for acne

that are outperforming lasers. And yet there's something that is inexpensive. - Yeah, yeah, well, it's crazy. Well, that's an episode in the rap guys. This is obviously I've known you personally for a long time,

but amazing to see it all laid out like this

in a great setup for the episode where we really tell the full story and more lessons and tips. And yeah, the product's top notch. We use it personally at my house, my family. So go check it out.

That's a rap for another legacy maker's podcast. I'll see you guys very soon. Take care.