Built inside a real practice.
Eye & Lens and Saluki Eyewear weren’t created to add more frame lines to the board. They were built to give Dr. Nikhil Bansal two brands his patients couldn’t find everywhere else—while giving her practice more control, stronger margins, and a more distinctive optical.
The turning point
Like many independent practices, Dr. Bansal faced the same pressure most owners feel: patients comparing frames, shrinking margins, low managed care reimbursementsand very little true differentiation between one optical and the next.
Carrying more brands wasn’t the answer. It only made the wall look more familiar. The smarter move was to create something patients would associate with his practice—not someone else’s logo.
That decision became Eye & Lens and Saluki Eyewear: two private-label collections built to look elevated, feel intentional, and give the practice something far more powerful than another vendor line.
Why it worked
- No direct online price comparison
- More control over margins (managed care) and product mix
- A stronger brand identity inside the practice
- A more memorable optical experience for patients
- A collection the team could stand behind as their own
What changed
This is where private label becomes more than a nice idea. When a practice builds a frame line around its own identity, the optical starts working harder. The product becomes more defensible. The story becomes clearer. And the patient experience becomes more ownable.
We have been using YBE for over 3 years now in both of our locations. It was an easy decision to make. The colors, materials and available styles were far superior to what we were purchasing from the usual sources. Our opticians were on board from the onset. Our patients have been repurchasing YBE year after year. Today, YBE accounts for about 30% of eyeglass frames sold in our practice. This is a testament to the quality of YBE frames and sunglasses.
— Nikhil Bansal, O.D., F.A.A.O.
Optometric Advisor • Practice Owner
More than a customer. A practitioner-led brand.
Private branding represents a better model for independent practices: not simply carrying frames, but building a brand inside the practice itself. That is what makes this different. It’s not a rep pitch. It’s not theory. It’s a real owner, in a real practice, using private label to create stronger identity, better economics, and a more modern optical strategy.
How the partnership developed
Why this matters to other ECPs
Practices relate to other practices. That’s what makes this page valuable. It shows what can happen when an independent owner stops relying completely on other brands and starts building an optical identity of their own.
This is the future of independent optical: practitioner-led, margin-aware, and harder to compare.
Could your practice do the same?
If you’re thinking about building your own private-label frame line, start with a few sample styles and a short conversation. We’ll walk through positioning, price points, and the fastest path to launch.