Hostage Tape

What Hostage Tape does

Hostage Tape is a privately held, direct-to-consumer wellness company that designs, markets, and ships mouth tape and nasal breathing products through its Shopify storefront at hostagetape.com. Founded in August 2019 by Alex Neist, a former professional quarterback and software entrepreneur, the company is headquartered in Excelsior, Minnesota and operates with 11-50 employees. Its flagship product is Hostage Mouth Tape, available in men's (black) and women's (pink) editions, engineered with proprietary BeardFlex™ adhesive technology that holds through facial hair, stubble, and overnight movement, and AirFlow™ breathable mesh that allows air passage for safety and comfort. The company has cumulatively sold 51 million strips and serves 150,000+ nightly users, with its brand visibility amplified by a Joe Rogan podcast feature and NFL Hall of Famer Troy Aikman's endorsement.

The company's product portfolio extends beyond mouth tape to include Hostage Nose Strips for nasal passage widening, plus accessories such as storage tins, nasal sticks, and Holdwipes skin-prep wipes, assembled into bundles including a flagship Sleep Starter Pack priced at 65% off. Pricing is structured in tiered quantity packs of 30, 90, 180, and 360 nights with subscription ("Subscribe & Save") at $54.99 every 3 months, and an HSA/FSA-eligible 30-day money-back guarantee. Sales are pure DTC: the company deliberately avoids Amazon and third-party retail to maintain brand control and protect against counterfeits. International shipping reaches Canada, the UK, the EU, and Australia.

Hostage Tape invests in clinical validation through a partnership with SleepSpace, which conducted a single-blind active-control study demonstrating 78.9% lower snoring, 84.6% improved sleep quality, a 3.7-point Epworth Sleepiness Scale reduction, a 6.8-point PROMIS sleep disturbance improvement, and 97.4% protocol adherence over 3 weeks. GTM motion centers on performance/high-performer messaging and beard-friendly positioning, with marketing channels spanning earned media, organic social under the #shutyourmouth hashtag, a 150K-subscriber email newsletter, and educational blog content on nasal-breathing science. The company is bootstrapped (no disclosed venture or private equity backing), is privately held, and remains entirely founder-controlled.

Name

Hostage Tape

Legal name

Hostage Tape

Website

https://hostagetape.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Hostage Tape is a direct-to-consumer wellness company selling beard-friendly mouth tape and nose strips designed to improve sleep by promoting nasal breathing, serving individual consumers in the US, Canada, the UK, the EU, and Australia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sleep Wellness Products

NAICS

Toilet Preparation Manufacturing (325620)

SIC

Perfumes, Cosmetics & Other Toilet Preparations (2844)

akta.pro primary industry

Oral Care Products (Toothpaste, Mouthwash, Dental Floss, Whitening) (CRADAMAA)

Keywords

• Mouth tape
• Nasal breathing aids
• Sleep wellness products
• Beard-friendly adhesive tape
• Anti-snoring accessories

Headquarters

HQ city

Excelsior

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Direct Product Sales: One-time and subscription purchases of mouth tape and nose strip products through their e-commerce platform. Offers multiple quantity tiers (30/90/180/360 night supplies) with bulk discounts. Subscribe & Save model provides recurring revenue with discounted pricing.
2. Accessory Products: Additional products including storage tins, nasal sticks, holdwipes, and sleep masks sold as add-ons to core mouth tape purchases.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Hostage Tape designs, manufactures, and sells mouth tape products engineered to keep the lips sealed during sleep and encourage nasal breathing, thereby reducing snoring, mouth breathing, and dry mouth. Its flagship Hostage Mouth Tape (Men's black and Women's pink editions) uses proprietary BeardFlex™ adhesive for facial hair and AirFlow™ breathable mesh for comfort, and is complemented by Hostage Nose Strips, Nasal Sticks, Holdwipes skin-prep wipes, and storage tins sold individually and in supply bundles via a Shopify-based direct-to-consumer storefront.

Product overview

Hostage Tape is a direct-to-consumer wellness company selling mouth tape and nasal breathing support products. The core product line centers on Hostage Mouth Tape (available in Men's black and Women's pink editions), engineered with proprietary BeardFlex™ and AirFlow™ technologies for beard-friendly all-night lip sealing. Complementary products include Hostage Nose Strips for nasal passage widening. The company offers various supply bundles (30/90/180/360 nights) with promotional pricing structures (Buy 2 Get 1 FREE, Buy 3 Get 2 FREE), plus accessories including Storage Tins, Nasal Sticks, and Holdwipes (skin barrier wipes). The flagship offering is the Sleep Starter Pack combining mouth tape with nose strips, nasal sticks, and storage tin at 65% discount. All products ship from US warehouses with 3-5 day delivery and a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hostage Mouth Tape (Men's and Women's editions) Beard-friendly mouth tape engineered with BeardFlex™ adhesive and AirFlow™ breathable mesh to keep the lips sealed during sleep for nasal breathing. Available in Men's (black) and Women's (pink) editions and shipped in 30-, 90-, 180-, and 360-night supplies.
• Hostage Nose Strips Extra-strength hypoallergenic nose strips designed to widen nasal passages for clearer breathing and snoring reduction, sold in 30-, 90-, 180-, and 360-day supplies.
• Mouth Tape + Nasal Sticks + Tin Bundle Bundled 180-day mouth tape supply with three refreshing mint nasal sticks and a storage tin, sold at a discount with free shipping.
• Mouth Tape + Nose Strip Bundle Combined bundle offering 90 days of mouth tape and 90 days of nose strips for maximum nasal breathing support.
• Sleep Starter Pack Flagship entry-level starter bundle at 65% off including 90 nights of mouth tape, free nose strips, nasal sticks, and storage tin with free shipping.
• Women's Starter Pack Women's edition starter bundle at 65% off, including pink mouth tape and accessories mirroring the Sleep Starter Pack.
• Hostage Mouth Tape Storage Tin Storage tin for convenient bedside storage of up to 30 mouth tape strips.
• Hostage Nasal Stick Refreshing mint nasal stick for nasal clearing and breathing support.
• Hostage Holdwipes 30-pack sterile skin barrier wipes used to improve adhesive hold of mouth tape and nose strips and to prep the skin before application.

Quantifiable outcome

• 78.9% lower struggle with snoring by Week 3
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• SleepSpacecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSleepSpace conducted a single-blind active-control clinical study on Hostage Tape users over 3 weeks using validated clinical measurement scales (Epworth Sleepiness Scale, PROMIS Sleep Disturbance). Study demonstrated statistically significant improvements in snoring, sleep quality, and daytime sleepiness. Mean participant age 50.4 years, 57.4% male, 42.6% female, with 97.4% protocol adherence.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Somnifix: Direct-to-consumer mouth tape brand and one of the original entrants in the mouth taping category. Competes head-to-head with Hostage Tape on similar nasal-breathing positioning and product format, though without the beard-specific and celebrity-driven branding emphasis.
• Mute (Rhinomed): Rhinomed's Mute nasal breathing product is a mechanized nasal dilator positioned for snoring and sleep quality improvement. Same end-customer (snorers, mouth breathers, CPAP users) and adjacent mechanism (opening the nose) as Hostage's nose strips, with publicly listed financials providing scale comparability.
• Myo Tape: Direct competitor offering mouth tape designed to encourage nasal breathing during sleep, with a myofunctional therapy framing. Overlaps directly with Hostage on product category, target user, and channel (DTC e-commerce).
• Azuro Mouth Tape: Mouth tape brand marketed for sleep and nasal-breathing benefits, with comparable packaging, sizing, and positioning to Hostage Tape. Competes for the same bearded/men's optimization segment at typically lower price points.
• Hush Mouth Tape: Direct-to-consumer mouth tape brand in the same niche as Hostage, targeting sleep improvement and snoring reduction. Comparable product format, customer base, and DTC go-to-market approach.
• SnoreMeds: Specialist anti-snoring brand offering mouthpieces and related sleep products. Overlaps with Hostage in addressing snoring as the primary pain point and serves a similar direct-to-consumer health/wellness shopper.

Broad incumbents

• Breathe Right: GlaxoSmithKline-owned nasal strip brand with mass-market awareness for nasal breathing improvement. Closest large-scale analogue to Hostage's nose strip line; competes for the same consumer intent around snoring reduction and nasal airflow, but is a CPG incumbent with broader distribution.
• Theravent: Nasal EPAP (expiratory positive airway pressure) device brand targeting snorers and CPAP-adjacent users. Larger incumbent in the broader nasal-breathing/snoring category; competes for the same end-customer need even though its product mechanism differs from a nasal strip or mouth tape.

Emerging players

• Eight Sleep: DTC sleep optimization company (smart mattress covers/pods) serving the high-performer and biohacker demographic that overlaps heavily with Hostage's target persona. Same customer psychographics and premium positioning; not a mouth tape competitor but a comparable DTC sleep-wellness brand.

Others

• Beats by Dre / Bose Sleepbuds: Adjacent sleep-aid hardware products (Bose discontinued Sleepbuds; competitors in this space include Ozlo Sleepbuds). Representative of broader sleep-tech/sleep-aid category adjacencies that compete for the same consumer sleep-solution wallet, though not direct product substitutes for mouth tape.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCwT0IWksFkIxmI-fMdvqP4w
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hostagetape
• Pinterestpinterest.com/hostagetape
• TikToktiktok.com/@hostagetape
• Facebookfacebook.com/HostageTape
• Instagraminstagram.com/hostagetape
• Xx.com/HostageTape

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hostage Tape