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Selling oxygen-in-a-stick is getting to be big business in Asia and in polluted cities overseas. It’s a trend startup Oxygen Plus Inc. is betting will catch on in the United States as it prepares to launch a new product and raise about $1.5 million in equity financing.
Two sisters started the company last year, at first hoping to sell its products to the medical industry. They later settled on the recreational market, which was growing in other parts of the world, said president Kevin Berigan.
After raising about $1.2 million in capital from angel investors, the firm launched its first product: a stick that releases oxygen after a button is pushed. The O-Stick offers about four times more oxygen than what’s found in ambient air.
A dispenser and two oxygen canisters retail for between $29.99 and $34. Oxygen Plus is targeting high-end consumers, selling the products at luxury boutique hotels and spas. Those customers are more likely to be experiencing “symptoms” that can be helped by more pure oxygen.
“They’re suffering from jet lag, fatigue; maybe they were over-served once or twice on the flight,” said Berigan, a former account manager with ad agency Fallon.
The effort has brought in about $170,000 in sales over the past four months. Oxygen Plus is now launching a mini version of the product, which it also hopes to sell in college bookstores and nightclubs. It has a deal to put that version on the breakfast menu at Kimpton hotels. The firm plans to use its hoped-for financing to help build up inventory as demand increases.
