Dear Valerie: Raw material supplier here! What makes you excited to work with a new ingredient supplier versus hesitant to hear them out?  —Sue Plyer

Dear Sue,

Easy—just say the word ingredient and I’m excited! In all seriousness, I cherish time with raw material suppliers because I love learning about the provenance of an ingredient. One of the many things my mentor Dr. Ron DiSalvo taught me is that every ingredient has a story to tell and a product to be used in. It’s just a matter of finding the right fit (and doing it at the right time). Dr. Ron is most often remembered, posthumously, for his willingness to give his time to ingredient suppliers, not only taking in their knowledge, but sharing his. I try to embody this trait, but in the last couple of years and with many curve balls, it’s been challenging. Perhaps more time with suppliers is a 2026 resolution for me!

It is easy to fill an entire day or week with meetings, so one does have to be discerning about which meetings to take. It generally has less to do with the company and more to do with the content of the meeting itself. If the ingredient is a new technology, that’s a no brainer. You’re penciled in! If it’s a new ingredient launch, but not necessarily a new technology, I prefer the ingredient to at least be in the realm of hair, hair color or scalp. However, I am inquisitive by nature, so I sometimes take meetings in other fields to see if there is any opportunity for crossover.

Ingredients also don’t have to be new to be interesting. An ingredient can be an existing raw material, but with a new twist. For example, glycolic acid is traditionally synthesized from natural gas, but Phycus Biotechnologies has launched a biobased version from wood waste. I’m willing to bend an ear! Or the ingredient could have new testing data or data for a new application. Sometimes old can be new! Also, I don’t necessarily turn away a meeting just because I’ve heard about an ingredient in the past. Us chemists get presented so many ingredients that it’s easy to forget about them. And, as Dr. Ron believed, it’s all about timing. Most often those “repeat” meetings have rekindled an interest and fulfilled a need.

All this being said, it’s easy to get excited and take a meeting with any supplier, old, or new. However, I am most judicious under a few circumstances.

I always require an agenda. The most cringeworthy thing a supplier could do is show up unprepared for a meeting, only to ask what I’m working on and if they can fill any of those needs. It’s awkward. If I needed something, I would have reached out.

Also in poor taste is the switch and bait, where the meeting is set under one pretense, only for undisclosed guests to arrive with an entirely different agenda on the table. One supplier has done that twice to me, and I can assure you there won’t be a third time. I thought it was common courtesy to agree upon a primary topic of conversation!

It’s also not valuable for meetings to be centered around purchasing conversations or commodities. No one likes discussing half-cent savings over glycerin, unless you’re a purchasing agent (just kidding!). The reality is I am a consultant who does not really have influence over what commodities contract manufacturers purchase. My recommendation would be to research with whom you are meeting. Now, what could be interesting is if you wanted to discuss glycerin from a non-food source, like the karanja weed!

Valerie George

askvalerie@icloud.com

Valerie George is a cosmetic chemist, science communicator, educator, leader, and avid proponent of transparency in the beauty industry. She works on the latest research in hair color and hair care at her company, Simply Formulas, and is the co-host of The Beauty Brains podcast. You can find her on Instagram at @cosmetic_chemist or showcasing her favorite ingredients to small brands and home formulators at simply-ingredients.com