An Interview with Dr. Steve Rosinski about Private Label Contacts

1. What exactly are 'private label' contact lenses in the context of eye care?  

Our exclusive Private Label contact lenses are the same product with the same high quality standards as CooperVision national brands. It’s the same lens, same material, same technology, just under a different name and label.

2. Why do practices choose to offer exclusive brands (also known as private label) alongside big national brands?

Patients purchase and use exclusive brands (private label) in their everyday lives. In fact, 97% of households buy customer-branded products. With the exclusive brands being the exact same contact lenses as national brands, more than 9 out of 10 patients rated their exclusive brands positively on vision clarity, quality and comfort. Exclusive brand contact lens wearers are significantly more satisfied with the affordability of their lenses than national brand contact lens wearers. ¹

3. Some patients might associate ‘private label’ as lower priced with lower quality. How do private label contact lenses compare to other CooperVision® contact lenses in terms of manufacturing standards, materials, and overall eye health safety? 

It’s the same lens, same material, same technology, same healthy lens wearing experience just under a different name. Have confidence that YOUR exclusive brand is the same product and high quality as the CooperVision national brands.

4. Based on your experience, do patients that switch to a high-quality private label lens like Ethos® report comparable comfort and visual performance to their previous brand-name lenses? What makes them unique?  

The Ethos® family of lenses are available in monthly, two week and daily disposables. These lenses offer all day comfort, innovative designs and an unrivaled parameter range for more patients. The Ethos Aquell® 1 Day family are high-performing 1-day contact lenses for demanding lifestyles. The lenses feature Aquaform® Technology which locks in water—so you have incredible comfort all day long—and it helps your eyes stay clear and white, by delivering the oxygen your eyes need. In addition, they offer innovative designs in sphere, toric, and multifocal, helping provide clearer, crisper vision in a wide range of parameters; all in a  convenient, daily replacement schedule with no cleaning required, so you’re always good to go.

5. If the quality and comfort are comparable, why are private label lenses typically more affordable?

Quality and comfort are the same as national brands. VSP® has partnered with CooperVision to offer high quality contact lenses at an affordable price.

6. Does a private label line like Ethos® typically offer the same wide range of options as the major brands, and if so, what options are available?

Ethos® offers a wide range of parameters in multiple designs in order to maximimze the total number of patients that can benefit from them even if patients have astigmatism or need help reading up close with multifocals.

7. If a patient currently wears a CooperVision® lens and is interested in trying the equivalent Ethos® lens, what does that process involve? Is it an automatic swap, or does it require a discussion, a new fitting, or trial lenses?

If a patient currently wears the national brand, and they are prescribed the same lens in an exclusive brand, no refit is needed. The patient is just usually told, I am keeping you in the same high performing lens, in our brand, at a more affordable price.  

8. What would you say to a patient who is still hesitant about switching from a brand name contact to a private label option? 

Trust you eye care provider that they will offer your contact lenses that meet your vision, comfort, convenience, and health needs. By leveraging the exclusive brand lenses, you can get the high performance of national brands at an affordable price.

1. Customer brand wearer 95% positive on qualty. 98% positive on vision clarity. 94% positive on comfort. CVI data on file, 2024. U.S Consumer Online Survey. N=310; 155 each of Customer and National Brand contact lens wearers surveyed.