Intake Breathing raises $62M to push nasal strips into mass retail
What's the deal? Intake BreathingDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has raised a $62 million investment led by Camino Partners, the firm founded by KindDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → Snacks founder Daniel Lubetzky. The direct-to-consumer brand makes a patented magnetic nasal dilator system and plans to use the capital to grow its internal team and move from online sales into mass retail.
What's the endgame? Intake wants to pull the nasal strip out of the drugstore cold-and-flu aisle and reposition it as an everyday wellness product tied to sleep and fitness. The company says it has sold more than 100 million pairs since launch and is approaching $100 million in annual sales.
Why now? The round lands as the category draws serious money: Prestige Consumer Healthcare agreed to buy Breathe Right and related brands for $1.045 billion. Those brands generated about $200 million in revenue in 2025.
What did the investor say? Camino president Elle Lanning said the firm wants to help Intake be strategic about retail partnerships and compared the plan to Kind moving the health bar out of the supplement aisle. "When we looked at it in the data, 74% of Intake consumers have not been legacy category consumers," she said. "And that solidified it for us."
What could go wrong? Intake sued Chinese rival Taniya Trading in July 2026, alleging its refill tabs infringe Intake's patent — a sign that cheaper copycats could pressure margins as the category grows. Shifting from DTC and Amazon into mass retail also brings new demands around SKU management and larger order volumes.
The signal: The bet reflects a broader push to turn functional products into lifestyle essentials, following brands like Hostage TapeDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → that rode the mouth-taping trend. With a $1 billion-plus acquisition anchoring the legacy end, investors are wagering that new products and wellness positioning can broaden demand for a mature category.
Read more: modernretail.co
Image credit: Intake Breathing
