About Zenni Optical
Making eyewear affordable and innovative for over two decades
Zenni Optical is the original disruptor in online eyewear, pioneering affordable, high-quality glasses for more than 22 years. With global operations across the United States, China, India, and the Philippines, the company combines strict quality and compliance standards with consumer innovation to build accessible eyewear at scale, delivering over 70 million frames to date.
“From early ideas to stage-gate execution, Slack is the glue that keeps our global teams aligned as we build the future of eyewear.”
The challenge
Global growth made product, marketing, and HR harder to align
When Zenni Optical shifted to a fully remote corporate workforce during the pandemic, the company didn’t look back. Nearly 500 employees now span time zones from Dallas to San Francisco to Shanghai, and the day-to-day business of designing, testing, marketing, and distributing eyewear has only grown more complex.
For product development, seamless alignment is essential. “Innovation at Zenni is like putting together a puzzle with people all over the world,” said AVP of Optical Product Nick LaManna. His team of opticians, chemists, and customer service leads work hand in hand with labs in China and Ohio, demanding strict checkpoints and approvals, medical device compliance, and documentation across multiple stakeholders.
For marketing, the stakes are just as high. Vice President of Brand Veronica Alcaro explained that the launch of the Zenni ID Guard lens, a first-of-its-kind product that shields eyes indoors and outdoors, was the ultimate stress test. “It’s our most innovative lens ever, and the goal from the top down was to launch with velocity,” she said.
For HR, the challenge is cultural as much as operational. “We are very remote, so how do we stay connected? How do we help people feel included?” said Head of People Rebecca Friese.
On top of legal reviews, compliance standards, and global fulfillment, leaders also have to keep a remote workforce connected to Zenni’s mission. Email, siloed systems, and endless meetings simply could not keep up.
“Pretty much every single team at Zenni touched the Zenni ID Guard launch in one way, shape, or form, and Slack was instrumental in making sure everyone was up to speed.”
How Zenni Optical works better with Slack
Slack unites teams, tools, partners, and success in one place
Today, every function — from product R&D to customer service to marketing approvals — flows through Slack, giving teams a single, searchable hub where decisions get made in real time. “Our daily connection is in Slack,” said Friese. “It’s what makes people feel included and part of a community.”
The Zenni ID Guard launch made Slack’s impact crystal clear. What could have been a chaotic six-month cross-functional sprint became a coordinated effort across dedicated Slack channels. Product development teams shared chemical formulations, lab test results, and spec sheets directly in channels for global review. Marketing built campaign assets, tracked logistics, and secured creative approvals through workflows. Finance and legal weighed in on budgets, compliance, and contracts — all in real time — to keep the entire launch on track.
External agency partners were even pulled directly into channels via Slack Connect, eliminating the friction of email and giving everyone shared context from the start.
Outside of product launches, Zenni’s customer service teams escalate issues from their CSM into Slack channels where subject matter experts can quickly triage. The IT team uses Slack with Jira to track issues and projects for engineers. HR and People teams mirror every major rollout — performance cycles, engagement surveys, AMAs, apps like CultureAmp — through dedicated Slack channels so employees have a single place for updates and questions. The marketing team also coordinates high-profile partnership events with organizations like WWE, the San Francisco 49ers, and the SF Marathon directly in Slack, keeping campaigns aligned and moving quickly.
Culture also thrives in channels. With employees rarely in the same office, Slack is where connection happens, whether it’s #zenni-pets, employee recognition through Assembly, or global dress-up days where teams in the U.S., China, India, and the Philippines post outfits and celebrate together.
“Integrating our external agencies into Slack Connect has been a tremendous unlock: Having them directly involved in real-time integrating with full visibility is a game-changer.”
What’s next
Sharpening Slack use and adding AI to scale
With Slack firmly embedded in the company’s culture and operations, Zenni’s next chapter is about refinement and intelligence.
Friese and her team are formalizing a “How to Slack at Zenni” playbook, with guidelines for naming conventions, emoji standards, and when to use channels versus threads. The goal is to make Slack even more intuitive.
Zenni recently enabled AI in Slack, and is beginning to explore how to automate recaps and bring intelligence into workflows. They’re also tapping into Enterprise AI Search in Slack to search across apps like Jira, Google Drive, CultureAmp, Salesforce, and more. “I definitely use Slack more than any other resource we have internally,” said Alcaro. “I search conversations to remind myself of feedback, and can’t wait to explore more AI capabilities.”
Looking ahead, Zenni plans on integrating Slack with both Salesforce Sales Cloud and, eventually, Salesforce Service Cloud. The team sees Slack as the foundation for scaling innovation, maintaining culture across borders, and advancing its mission to make quality eyewear affordable and accessible to all. “I can’t live without Slack,” said Alcaro. “It is critical for keeping us all on the same page.”
