Overview
2026 SWSCC Suppliers’ Day
Event Date: September 15, 2026
Exhibit Hours: 8:00 AM – 11:30 AM and 1:00 PM – 4:30 PM
Check-In Desk: Opens at 7:00AM (pickup lanyards)
Speaker Presentation/Lunch Provided on Grand Ballroom Level: 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM (exhibition floor closed to exhibitors and attendants)
Post-Event Reception on Grand Ballroom Level: Beakers & Beauty Party – 4:30 to 7:00pm
Important Note to Exhibitors: All exhibiting personnel are required to register separately under the attendees registration to obtain and print their event badges. There will be a dropdown and choose exhibitor.
Location:
Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas
500 West Las Colinas Boulevard
Irving, TX 75039
Hotel: **Rooms Are Sold Out**
Speakers
Speakers For
Chef Ashley Henderson-Jacobs
Chef Ashley Henderson-Jacobs is a Dallas based chef, culinary creative, and entrepreneur with more than a decade of experience in restaurants, luxury hospitality, catering, and recipe development. A Le Cordon Bleu graduate, she has worked with brands including Wolfgang Puck, The Tower Club, and Thermomix USA.
As founder of White Squirrel Concepts, Ashley creates chef driven culinary experiences that blend food, storytelling, hospitality, and innovation. She is a former member of Les Dames d’Escoffier and a graduate of the Goldman Sachs Black Women in Business program.
From Kitchen to Cosmetics: Innovation Through Texture, Process, and Sensory Design
This keynote presentation will highlight how innovation can be applied through a chef's lens to create multiple recipes, textures, and sensory experiences using a single piece of equipment. Ashley Henderson-Jacobs will share how culinary creativity, process discipline, ingredient knowledge, and equipment versatility can transform simple concepts into differentiated finished products.
The presentation will connect culinary innovation with the cosmetic and personal care industry by demonstrating how texture, process, and sensory design can influence product development, consumer perception, and market differentiation.
Bill Birt
Bill Birt is a Principal Engineer in R&D focused on cosmetics process development, manufacturing support, and product commercialization. He works across formulation, process engineering, quality, packaging, and contract manufacturing to successfully scale products and resolve complex technical challenges. His experience includes process optimization, global manufacturing support, and root cause investigations related to product performance and quality. Bill is also a strong advocate for digital transformation in R&D, combining AI tools such as Copilot and ChatGPT with data analytics platforms like RapidMiner to drive predictive modeling, design of experiments (DOE), and process optimization. He is passionate about helping teams move from intuition-based decision-making to data-driven strategies that improve efficiency, reduce variability, and accelerate product development across cosmetics R&D, manufacturing, and sustainability.
Smarter Decisions Through Data and AI in Cosmetics
This presentation, delivered for Supplier Day, examines practical applications of data and AI in cosmetics across R&D, quality, operations, and supplier contexts. It argues that AI amplifies—rather than replaces—technical judgment when historical lab and process data are treated as strategic assets.
Using the historical analogy of the power loom, the talk frames technology as a force that reshapes work while expanding the value of skilled expertise. A central case study describes predictive stability modeling built on approximately 20 years of freeze–thaw data. After extensive cleansing to address inconsistent terminology, missing values, and evolving methods, binary pass/fail models (developed in RapidMiner) provided early risk signals that helped prioritize physical testing for new formulas. The work underscores that data standardization, not algorithm selection, was the primary bottleneck, and that purely historical outcome labels have inherent limits for truly novel chemistries without molecular-level features.
Beyond the laboratory, the presentation highlights process dashboards that convert manufacturing signals into earlier visibility of drift, enabling proactive intervention while remaining complementary to existing controls. Generative AI is positioned as an investigation partner that organizes prior knowledge, surfaces root-cause hypotheses, proposes alternatives, and structures follow-up experiments—provided prompts are carefully engineered with role, context, evidence, desired output format, and constraints.
Five practical takeaways conclude the talk: (1) clean and standardize long-term data first, (2) deploy models to prioritize rather than replace testing, (3) monitor process drift in near real time, (4) apply disciplined prompt design, and (5) keep experienced technical judgment central. The overall message is that useful AI in cosmetics emerges from treating data rigorously and keeping domain experts firmly in the loop.
Sponsors
Sponsors
Registration and Show Sponsored by:
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Beakers and Beauty Party Sponsored by:
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Lunch Sponsored by:
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Recharge Lounge Sponsored by:
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Exhibitor FAQs
Exhibitor Frequently Asked Questions
How do exhibitors receive their badges?
Each exhibitor staff member must register through the same registration system as attendees at https://swscc.org/2026-suppliers-day#registration-links. During registration, please select Exhibitor as the attendee type. Once registered, a confirmation email will be sent to the email address provided during registration. That email will include a link to print your badge. Lanyards and badge holders will be provided at the event. Please note that purchasing a booth does not automatically register you for the show. Each exhibitor staff member must complete the registration process.
If I forget to print my badge and bring it to the show, how do I get one?
We will have a registration booth onsite for attendees, including a badge reprint line. However, please do not wait until you arrive at the event to register. We are working to reduce registration lines and need an accurate count prior to the event for lunch and the post-party.
Will there be a lead retrieval system this year?
No, a separate lead retrieval system will not be used this year. Instead, we have added a QR code to each badge that includes the attendee's name, company, and email address. Exhibitors can scan the QR code using their phones or tablets.
Who is coordinating the booths for the show?
Superior Services is coordinating the booths and can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Please do not include Mauricio Castro or Mary Miller on emails to Superior, as neither are able to answer booth service questions on their behalf. If you do not receive a response from Superior within a reasonable amount of time, please forward the email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., and she will follow up with Superior while copying you on the message.
What if I did not receive my booth service kit from Superior?
First, please check your spam or junk email folder for any messages from Superior. If you do not see the email there, please contact Superior at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., and they will email you a user ID and password. Please do not copy Mauricio Castro or Mary Miller on correspondence with Superior.
Do the booths include electrical or Wi-Fi?
No, electrical and Wi-Fi are not included with the booths. The booth service kit provides information on who to contact if these services are needed.
What if I am using a third party to set up my booth and have questions or need to provide proof of insurance?
These questions should be sent directly to Superior, and they will provide the necessary information. Please do not copy Mauricio Castro or Mary Miller on these emails.
Are there any marketing tools available to promote the show and my booth?
Yes. Mary Miller sent an email that included an email signature line you can customize with your booth number and use when sending emails. If you are unable to locate that message, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to request the email signature line.
Is there a website for the show?
Yes, please visit https://swscc.org/2026-suppliers-day#overview. The website includes different tabs that will continue to be updated as we get closer to the show. Currently, it includes show details and registration links.
Is lunch provided?
Yes, lunch will be provided at no cost to all exhibitors and attendees. There will be a speaker presentation from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. During this time, the exhibition hall will be closed, and the lunch presentation will take place upstairs at the convention center.