Group of people celebrating Zenni’s 20 years of Eyewear for Everyone by showing off their Zenni glasses, sunglasses, and blue light glasses.

The Zenni Story

Vision care can be surprisingly expensive. Concerned that the ability to see costs people hundreds of dollars, two visionaries founded Zenni in 2003 as one of the first online-only shops for affordable prescription glasses. They were able to provide affordable and accessible eyewear to everyone by cutting the middleman out and going directly to consumers. What started as a small, homegrown business in Northern California has morphed into an e-commerce success story with over 50 million frames sold to customers all over the world. In this journey, we continue to innovate but our commitment remains the same: Investing in vision care today means a brighter tomorrow for everyone.”

Zenni’s first website.

2003

Zenni was founded and we launched our website to disrupt the industry with affordable eyewear.

Zenni’s protective hard case for glasses.

2005

Zenni lowers their starting price point from $19 to $6.95 to make eyeglasses more accessible to everyone.

A woman wearing glasses with digital points that follow her face shape.

2007

Zenni becomes the first online retailer to offer virtual try-on.

Clear lens filtering a ray of blue light.

2016

Blokz® blue-light blocking lenses introduced for preventative eye care.

Coby White wearing his Chicago Bulls jersey and Zenni browline glasses.

2018

Zenni becomes the Official Eyewear of the Chicago Bulls, the first of our exciting sports partnerships.

49er fan wearing red rectangle sunglasses.

2019

Zenni becomes the Official Eyewear of the 49ers.

Image of a variety of glasses placed on a dugout table.

2020

Zenni gets into the MLB game with Red Sox partnership.

Packages of face masks.

2020

Zenni donates over 2 million PPE during Covid-19 pandemic.

A Zenni employee manufactures glasses in the Ohio facility.

2020

Our new manufacturing facility in Ohio opens, giving us the ability to offer 2-3 day rush delivery.

Flatlay of different glasses and sunglasses.

2022

50 million pairs sold!

Columbus Crew logo with a soccer game in the background.

2023

Zenni and Columbus Crew launch their partnership together.

A woman uses the prescription scan to fill in her prescription automatically.

2023

We are embarking on a digital transformation to make eyewear and eye care even more accessible to our customers. Stay tuned...

Making an Impact

1,261,861

Glasses Donated

326

Vision Screening & Academic Scholarships Awarded

2,100,000

Personal Protective Equipment Kits Donated

At Zenni, we believe everyone deserves access to eye care. We are committed to providing vision and mental health resources, vision screenings and eyeglasses to children, families and communities.

This positive impact would not be possible without our long list of partners including UC Berkeley School of Optometry, Prevent Blindness, Chicago Bulls, 49ers, and Abiri Tours.

How we do it

Anytime, anywhere shopping

How do we make high-quality eyewear so affordable? We bring the shopping experience to you. You no longer need to make an appointment and drive to your optician. As long as you have a digital device and internet connection, you can find the perfect glasses for you.

A Zenni employee is making a pair of glasses.

We make it ourselves

We stand behind the quality of our eyewear because we make each pair. From frame design and manufacturing to lens edging, we employ the industry's most advanced optical machinery and software. Our state-of-the-art prescription lab produces lenses for every prescription with high-quality coatings, as well as lens tinting for sunglasses and blue light glasses.

Someone inspecting a pair of glasses.

We care

After manufacturing and checking your glasses, we carefully package them into a hard-shell case with a complimentary lens cloth. We work with the best courier services to ensure your glasses arrive safely to your door in over 80 countries around the world.

A Zenni employee taking care of packaging is smiling at the camera.

Zenni Awards

Celebrating excellence in innovation and customer satisfaction