About a year out of college, I left the daily newspaper I had worked at since high school to join a small, family-owned magazine publisher. No, no, no, not this one—it was another trade magazine group in central New Jersey that has been bought and sold a number of times since I worked there. Anyway, at least once a week, the owner and publisher would go screaming down the halls demanding that a certain sales rep, Alan, pick up the *@&! phone and make a sales call, or he would be fired. Well, Alan was fired about every other week during the 10 months I was with that company. And each time, he would be rehired and the same song and dance would start all over again. Talk about dysfunctional!

Why this little parable? Well, a couple of weeks ago I received a phone call from an executive at a consumer product company who was eager to enter into a new category—a sector in which the firm had little or no expertise. Unfortunately, not one supplier that she had contacted had bothered to return her phone call. That’s bad business in any economy, but it’s suicidal in today’s climate. Ultimately, we were able to help our reader out by giving her some very reliable sources to get her project off the ground, but who knows what opportunities were missed by those unreturned phone calls?

Over the years, readers have told us how much they enjoy our new ingredient lists which appear from time to time at the end of a feature. Both our hair styling article and our skin care article include new ingredient information from industry suppliers. In addition, you’ll find a list of preservatives from industry suppliers available online at Happi.com to complement our preservative coverage.

If you’re in the process of developing a new product, or looking for a replacement to fit an existing formulation, go ahead and give these companies a call. You can be sure that they’ll be quick to pick up the phone or return your call!

We hope you enjoy this edition of Happi. As always, we welcome your comments and suggestions. Now, you can follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/happieditor or contact us via email, snail mail, or, of course, a phone call!