If your online algorithm is anything like ours, you would have come across one of the countless videos PeakFlow, a local nose strip brand, has posted online.
They typically follow the same effective formula: “Someone tries PeakFlow.” These people could range from a student and influencers to pro athletes and even Malaysian politician Syed Saddiq himself.
If you looked up the business some months ago, you might’ve come across an interesting page on their website about the founder’s story. This page shared that the 54-year-old founder had struggled with a deviated septum and chronic nasal congestion.
Intriguing, right?
But speaking to the founder of PeakFlow, we learnt that the page was supposedly wrongly posted, and the information on it had been fictitious.
So, what’s the true story behind the business?
The real 23-year-old behind the business
Instead of being 54 years old like we thought, the founder, Kooi, is actually still a full-time student who’s pursuing civil engineering.
“The reason I started PeakFlow is that I am the kind of person that cannot have a boss or take orders or instructions,” he claimed to Vulcan Post. “I had a 9-5 job right after Form 6 and I hated it.”
Rather than a follower, Kooi is more of a risktaker and a hustler. He explained that one reason he started PeakFlow is because he’s “always looking for ways to make money.”
In fact, he has founded several other businesses before, including an e-cig business and a brand selling libido-enhancing chocolates.
The jump from those products to nose strips might seem quite big for some.
Kooi explained that the idea for PeakFlow came from his own interest in martial arts. While watching a match, he saw an ad for a brand selling a nose strip product that aided with sleep.
“The first thing I did after I found out about that was to check if there was anyone selling it on Shopee,” he said. “Luckily, there were only those nose strips that you can find in the pharmacy— skin-coloured, flimsy, and they don’t even do anything.”
He even bought the nose strip sponsoring the martial arts match he was watching, but felt that the product could be further improved. Believing that he could do a better job, he decided to start his own venture—PeakFlow.
Scientifically proven to help?
More than sleep aid, however, PeakFlow was designed to last through extreme activities.
“The traditional nasal strips are always marketed towards sleep,” he pointed out. “But why don’t we want better breathing at other times? Especially during sports, when we are out of breath. PeakFlow helps you breathe better, smoother, and recover faster. That’s what it does.”
He explained that the product has three spring-like bands built into the strip which work to expand the wearer’s nose, allowing smoother breathing.
“We purposely target the fitness market to differentiate ourselves with the nasal strips you find in the pharmacy,” Kooi shared.
According to PeakFlow’s website, benefits of the product include boosting performance, reducing snoring, enhancing recovery, elevating energy levels, increasing focus and concentration, supporting respiratory health, reducing daytime fatigue, and promoting oral health.
All these benefits sound great, but from what we can tell, PeakFlow hasn’t actually reported conducting any measurable research on these benefits.
It’s vital to note that some research has shown that there is no evidence to support that nose strips can enhance athletic performance.
It is reported by industry publications that they provide zero improvement in VO₂ max (a measurement of maximum oxygen consumption during exercise that’s often used as a proxy for aerobic fitness), heart rate, or RPE (rate of perceived exertion).
But then again, there are other studies that claim that athletes wearing external nose dilation strips’ respiration time to exhaustion was longer.
In any case, the sample size for many of these studies are quite small. Hopefully, PeakFlow will be able to conduct their own studies providing the eight benefits they listed. That said, benefits such as “increasing focus and concentration” may be hard to measure.
The website also uses language such as “unlock your full oxygen potential” through their products. Note that this claim doesn’t actually mean that your oxygen levels will be improved.
Kooi clarified, “PeakFlow is not designed to increase oxygen levels. It is to help you breathe smoother. Only when you put it on will you feel its effect.”
With a grain of salt
“I don’t know where you found this on the website, this is never published, and it is not real.”
This was the confused message that Kooi had sent us when asked about the founder’s “deviated septum.” At the time of us reaching out to the founder, the page had been live on their website, though it was later taken down.
Just goes to show that instead of assuming everything you see on the internet is true, it’s important to develop the habit of digging deeper and doing your due diligence.
Yet, it is somewhat inspiring to see how this young entrepreneur has been able to scale a simple idea into a full-fledged business.
There’s no doubt that Kooi has some marketing chops, having posted numerous viral videos online that have amassed millions of views.
He claims that PeakFlow has brought in RM1.9 million revenue in its first six months.
“I started PeakFlow with the last RM10,000 I have,” he claimed to Vulcan Post. “It’s not the capital that matters. You don’t need much to start a business.”
Believing in the product, the 23-year-old entrepreneur hopes to continue growing PeakFlow, perhaps even bringing it abroad.
Featured Image Credit: PeakFlow
