There are two things TECMASK creator Madelaine Scarf has always been passionate about: entrepreneurship and travel. From a young age, she balanced her deep love of going on global adventures to new and exciting destinations with multiple jobs, including manufacturing jewellery, teaching children how to swim and managing memberships at a fitness centre, plus studying of a Bachelor of Commerce degree, majoring in Marketing. 

“During all of this experience I realised that I loved the health side of things, I missed being able to tap into the creative part of my brain,” she says. “At the same time, through my studies I developed a real love for marketing, which lead me to look for other opportunities.”

The life-changing opportunity she was looking for presented itself during a trip to Japan with her father in 2012, when she picked up a nasty bug mid-flight that almost threatened to ruin their holiday. 

“In Japan we noticed how many people wore disposable face masks, which we could appreciate given that I was sick and understandably, nobody would want to catch what I had,” Madelaine explains. “But we couldn’t quite understand why they were all white, when it was supposed to be one of the fashion capitals of the world.”

And so, the idea for TECMASK was born. Madelaine immediately started looking into the possibility of creating disposable face masks that were not just practical and scientifically sound, but also looked fantastic. 

She did extensive work to develop the idea, including global market and consumer research, environmental studies into the statistics and science behind the transfer of germs and disease, product research to study the commercial landscape and design experiments to explore the possibilities for transforming traditionally white masks into something that is both stylish and desirable. The result? A fantastic product that has quickly become a travel must-have.

“Sales are now rapidly increasing, our stockists list is continually growing and more and more people are becoming conscious of protecting their health whilst travelling,” she says. “Because let’s face it – nobody has time to get sick post flight, regardless of whether they are travelling for work or leisure.”