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Private equity backed a nasal strip brand that repositioned breathing as identity, not intervention, and charged 2x pharmacy price.
$62 million
from Camino Partners to position optimized breathing as a…
$20 to $30
for a
30-day supply
compared to
$10 to $15
for pharmacy equivalents
Intake Breathing closed $62 million from Camino Partners to position optimized breathing as a consumer wellness category, according to Glossy. The brand sells nasal breathing strips — adhesive devices that open nasal passages during sleep or exercise. The play was not to solve a medical problem. It was to make nasal breathing a visible status marker for people who already buy premium wellness products.
Intake framed the strips as performance optimization for the health-conscious consumer, not as a medical device for sleep apnea or snoring. The packaging, pricing, and distribution aligned with premium supplement brands. The brand positioned the product as part of a daily optimization routine — recovery, focus, athletic output — not as a remedy for dysfunction. CEO Alex Huack told Glossy the goal was to shift breathing from invisible necessity to intentional practice, the same way hydration became a category when premium water brands put it in transparent bottles with minimalist labels.
The mechanism works because wellness consumers buy identity before efficacy. A nasal strip in a pharmacy aisle signals a problem. The same strip in a letterpress box on a bedside table next to magnesium and sleep trackers signals optimization. Camino Partners president Elle Lanning told Glossy the bet was on category creation, not product innovation. The strip is commodity. The brand position is scarce. The private equity thesis was that breathing sits upstream of sleep, recovery, and performance — categories already monetized at premium — but had not yet been packaged as a standalone consumer ritual.
Intake sold through direct-to-consumer channels and placed product in premium fitness studios and boutique hotels. The brand did not lead with clinical claims. It led with founder story, athlete endorsements, and lifestyle imagery. The distribution strategy mirrored supplement brands that sell through Equinox, Erewhon, and boutique gyms before scaling to mass retail. The price point was $20 to $30 for a 30-day supply, compared to $10 to $15 for pharmacy equivalents, according to Glossy. The margin funded brand storytelling, not product differentiation.
A small physical-product brand can run the same play without venture backing. Start with a commodity input that already works — a product category consumers buy but do not identify with. Reposition it as an optimization tool for a defined wellness subculture. Change the packaging from clinical to aspirational. Write the founding story around identity, not invention. Distribute through three to five premium channels that the target customer already shops — a yoga studio, a premium grocer, a boutique hotel gift shop — before scaling. Price 30 to 50 percent above the pharmacy equivalent. Use the margin to fund content that positions the product as part of a visible daily practice. Partner with micro-influencers who already document their routines. The goal is not to invent a new benefit. It is to make an existing behavior a status signal.
The broader pattern is that private equity now funds brand arbitrage in wellness. Camino did not back a new molecule or a patented device. It backed a repositioning strategy for a product that already existed. The return comes from building a brand that can charge 2x to 3x the commodity price by attaching it to identity, then scaling that brand through acquisition or distribution partnerships. For a small brand, the lesson is simple: wellness consumers will pay premium for packaging a known input as part of their visible identity system. Find the commodity they already use in private. Make it public.
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