Zenni partners with Meta in business-to-business offering

Direct-to-consumer retailer Zenni Optical is launching its Zenni Business platform with four major partners.

The specialty eyewear retailer is rolling out Zenni Business as a business-to-business offering with a vertically integrated operating model that includes ownership of optical laboratories, manufacturing and logistics, frame design, technology and customer service.

As a result, Zenni says it can control costs and help large enterprises, eye care providers (ECPs), insurance companies and corporate benefits providers leverage its existing infrastructure and marketplace knowledge. 

The company formally launched Zenni Business in September 2023, partnering with Meta, U.S. Vision Inc., PPG, and Molina Healthcare. Features include a full suite of end-to-end customized solutions, including an e-commerce platform, comprehensive manufacturing in Zenni labs including end-to-end frame production, omnichannel fulfillment and logistics, and corporate benefits and gifting programs including a redemption portal.

Details of each joint effort follow.

• Zenni partnered with Meta in early 2023 to provide virtual reality (VR) prescription lens inserts for the Meta Quest 3 headset.
• Zenni is supporting optical products retailer U.S. Vision's e-commerce strategy as part of an effort to enhance its omnichannel presence across 260 stores nationwide.
• Zenni created a tailored shopping experience for employees of paint/coatings provider requiring ANSI Z87.1 safety eyewear, available at more than 200 locations after a successful pilot program.
• In 2023, Zenni launched a digital platform for Molina Healthcare to offer corrective vision solutions to its Medicare patient network of 500,000 members in Washington state.

"We are on a mission to elevate eye health awareness, revolutionize the prescription process, and optimize global operations and manufacturing," said David Ting, Zenni global CTO and GM. "Through Zenni Business, we empower our partners to achieve the same."

[Read more: EXCLUSIVE: Zenni dives deep into consumer trends with AI]

"We identified a strategic opportunity to revolutionize this industry, and the response to Zenni Business has been extremely positive,” said Brian Persons, head of business development, Zenni. “We have found that a significant number of businesses have been seeking an innovative partner to challenge the prevailing norms. Traditional industry leaders have maintained dominance for far too long, often with a rigid mindset, and our market entry now presents a more progressive alternative." 

"Partnering with Zenni Business will help us to deliver on our long-held mission to provide broader access to premium eyewear for all of our customers, regardless of their proximity to our brick-and-mortar locations" said Eric J. Bertrand, chairman of U.S. Vision. "Zenni's top-tier e-commerce experience provides us with a digital infrastructure that can scale our offerings quickly and easily."