The Wallonia-Brussels Days are taking place from August 7 to 11 at the Belgium House in Paris during the Olympic Games. On this occasion, several Walloon companies are present to promote their brands. Discover three of them: Horlogerie Louis, Astrofood and Levita.

To mark the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, an evening of Wallonia.be brand ambassadors is being organized at Belgium House in Paris. Launched in 2011 as part of the development of Wallonia.be's territorial branding, this network now boasts over 3,500 members, half of whom live abroad. These ambassadors come from all sectors of activity, and all have one thing in common: they love Wallonia and want to promote it.

The evening is also an opportunity for several Walloon companies to present their concepts and promote their products. Here's a look at three of the companies taking part: Horlogerie Louis, Astrofood and Levita.

Horlogerie Louis

Horlogerie Louis is a family business launched in 1974 by the father of Jean-Marie Louis, the current owner. " He repaired old clocks from castles and collections. In 2016, I took over the business and integrated the sale of branded wristwatches (Omega, Rolex, Cartier,...) as well as the repair of these same watches. In 2020, I launched the creation of personalized luxury clocks with Walloon craftsmen. In this way, I'm combining my jewelry and watchmaking studies," says Jean-Marie Louis.

Jean-Marie Louis is using Belgium House "as a window to showcase our work on the theme of the Paris Olympics."  He will be exhibiting his creation for the Paris Olympics: the Illustro clock.

"Illustro features a structure similar to that of the Eiffel Tower, and a nod to the Olympic Games. The Illustro clock is edged with 500 diamonds on the main lines to show off all the Parisian light, and built around a few 18-carat gold rings," explains Jean-Marie Louis, twice Belgian 100-meter champion.

Astrofood

At Belgium House, Zakaria Grevisse will be on hand during the Wallonia-Brussels Days to present his Wallonia-based start-up Astrofood. In brief, this company is studying the food of the future, both on Earth and on Mars. Incubated by the European Space Agency, Astrofood develops high-performance nutrition based on fresh microalgae, such as spirulina.

"Our advanced photobioreactors, which will one day be used on the Moon and Mars, enable us to obtain a quality such that we can use it in its fresh form. Being very rich in protein, a testament to its quality is its total absence of taste, which makes it very versatile in terms of recipes. However, it is rather fragile. We're somewhere between minced steak and egg white. It therefore requires numerous controls to avoid contamination or oxidation. But these controls also make it extremely resource-efficient, which makes it an extremely sustainable source of protein," explains Zakaria Grevisse, CEO of Astrofood.

"Microalgae are recognized as one of the most promising forms of food for long-duration space missions to the Moon and Mars. In fact, Astrofood responded to a call for projects to participate in Raphaël Liégeois's mission to the ISS in 2026", adds Zakaria Grevisse. The Astrofood CEO is also focusing his research on the ultra-specific production of these microalgae for top-level athletes. "There's a clear synergy between the world of aerospace, i.e. the health and performance of astronauts, and that of top-level athletes: for both, every nutrient counts. For the 2028 Olympics, we'll be able to develop tailor-made food for athletes based on the components they need most," he concludes.

Levita

With Levita, magic is expected at Belgium House. Created in 2018, the Liege-based company has invented and developed a showcase in which prestigious objects are placed in levitation. Clément Kerstenne and Philippe Bougard, the founders, applied their talents as professional prestidigitators to extend their field of activity and practice magic without being there.

The company soon distinguished itself by signing contracts with the world's two leading luxury groups, LVMH and Richemont, and has worked with brands such as Cartier, Louis Vuitton, Dior, etc. Levita also has offices in London and Shanghai.

"For us, Paris remains our market of choice, as the luxury world has a strong presence there. During the Olympic Games, we have 5 or 6 installations in Paris for brands whose names we can't mention", comments Nicolas Dembour, managing director of Levita.

The company is planning an installation at Belgium House with an object yet to be determined, but which should have a link with the Olympic Games.