To do something well, you have to be knee-deep in it. If necessary, get your hands dirty. That’s what Sjoerd Trompetter and Jochem Hes, both 36 and Dutch, did when they became firsttime fathers (they were 32 and 31 respectively then).
To do something well, you have to be knee-deep in it. If necessary, get your hands dirty. That’s what Sjoerd Trompetter and Jochem Hes, both 36 and Dutch, did when they became firsttime fathers (they were 32 and 31 respectively then).
“During that time, we found out that the majority of the baby care products are based on the cheapest formulations that you can imagine,” says Sjoerd, who used to work for Exxon Mobil and really knows his chemicals well. “Think mineral oil, chemical preservatives, sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) and a lot of perfume. This is strange because the skin of a baby is five times thinner than an adult’s. “Mineral oil forms the base in most baby care brands. This oil leaves a film on the skin, clogging pores, blocking moisture and oxygen circulation to the skin. Is it any wonder that 80 per cent of all babies have skin problems like rashes and eczema during their first year?” With such facts confirmed by experts – dermatologists, GPs, toxicologists and mums – Sjoerd and Jochem started their search for highquality and natural baby care by first having many small focus groups with mums in the Netherlands. “Based on all their input, we understood mums even better, the choices they made, the brands they loved, the magazines they read, the stores they visited, the prices they were willing to pay, and so on.”
Then they made their own products at a lab in Switzerland. After a year – during which they quit their full-time corporate gigs – Naïf was launched in early 2013 in the Netherlands. “At Naïf, we avoid using (chemical) ingredients which could potentially be harmful for sensitive baby skin. At our website, we try to be as open as we can. We explain why we don’t use certain ingredients as well as why we include others. So, instead of mineral oils, we use only natural oils, like cottonseed oil which is a very mild oil that helps the skin retain moisture, is rich in vitamin E and fatty acids, and has sunprotective properties.” Babies weren’t the only ones who took to the products (there are 14 items now, from shampoo to soothing oil); their parents did, too. “If it’s good for babies, it’s good for everybody – not the other way around! Many of our customers use Naïf for the whole family.” To brand it properly – and successfully – it was initially sold at pharmacies, children’s stores, selected cosmetic salons and on its website. “We have now added one of the biggest drugstores in the Netherlands as a stockist. We don’t want to be ‘exclusive’. We are here for all babies.”
THE INGREDIENTS THAT NO BABY NEEDS
• Mineral oils
• Parabens
• Phenoxyethanol
• SLS/SLES
• Essential oils
• PEG
• Synthetic emulsiflers
• Anything that you can’t pronounce
Bestsellers: Cleansing Wash Gel and Softening Body Lotion. “We believe this is a combination of the products, the artwork (the bee on the lotion is our favourite) and the fact that kids love to ‘play’ with the Wash Gel,” say Sjoerd and Jochem.
