Starter in de kijker: Inge Louf gaat voor ‘no sweat and still glory’

Starter in the spotlight: Inge Louf goes for 'no sweat and still glory'

YPRES - Anyone who thought that everything has already been invented is wrong. The Ypres Inge Louf, a pharmacist by training, spent four years and through 270 tests on a product that would filter out unpleasant sweat odors in an ecologically responsible way. Her product is now here and will please many people. Her campaign of conquest through Flemish pharmacies turns out to be a bull's eye. Inge can hardly keep up with the demand, but she says she is very happy to finally be an entrepreneur.

Reporting on innovation, new entrepreneurship and the entire start-up culture usually focuses on young, hip people in their twenties. Nine times out of ten, it is also men who are in the spotlight with their insatiable hunger to turn their ideas into reality. Women over fifty who are starting their own business? Come on! And yet they exist. "It is therefore not only young lions who are bitten by innovation and embark on the great entrepreneurial adventure," says Inge Louf.

Inge Louf (54) from Ypres is such a daredevil. For many years she helped support the insurance agency of her husband, Paul Robyn. But the call of entrepreneurship also sounded louder. "I found the inspiration for a new product in my own family," says Louf. "The bad-smelling gymnastics slippers of my sporty sons (now big guys), the sweat odors during puberty and my own blouses that no longer stayed fresh in stressful situations. It bothered me and I started looking for a solution. For a product that counteracts sweat odors without preventing natural sweating. That product turned out not to exist. And that was a big aha moment for me. My sons now also actively participate and I receive an incredible amount of support from my husband, who only applauds my entrepreneurial spirit."

Fresh breeze

Inge Louf found inspiration in the look and feel of the indomitable power and freshness of the sea. A name was quickly found: Oy. It means 'island' in Norwegian and stands for healthy sea air with a fresh breeze full of oxygen. For the time being, there are two products on the market in the form of a shower gel: OY Deo Wash and OY Deo Scrub. They both contain active ingredients that definitively tackle the cause of odor formation in a sustainable way. Oy Deo Wash is applied locally to problem areas: shaved armpits and skin folds. Oy Deo Scrub is ideal for the feet, between the toes and unshaved armpits. Inge Louf: "Oy's active ingredients eliminate the micro-organisms that cause bad odor in armpits and feet without slowing down the natural sweating process. Sweating is very important for the body. It ensures that the body maintains the right temperature , it keeps the pores clean and the skin supple. So it is in our interest to keep sweating, but preferably without odors."

More information via this link: Made In West Flanders

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