Adding a little Zest with support from CVP
Posted on Feb 9, 2026 by Admin
We find out how Zest, the Sainsbury’s in-house creative agency, shaped its impressive production capabilities with support from CVP
Advertisement feature
Zest is the Sainsbury’s in-house creative agency, which produces e-commerce, social, campaign, PR and collaboration content for Sainsbury’s, Argos, Habitat, Tu and Nectar. Across these famous brands, it manages the end-to-end creative process, including concepting, styling, set design, set building, photography, video, editing and post-production for every platform and audience.
Established in 2023, Zest’s responsibilities have gradually expanded across more brands and content types. As part of its development strategy, the team needed to ensure it had the right expertise and equipment.
In particular, its production environment required rapid turnaround times, in order to handle frequent last-minute requests and react quickly across each creative project. Its move into food photography and video introduced technical challenges that needed new skills and specialist equipment.
Part of the challenge was that previous suppliers had struggled with slow response times and limited expert advice, making it difficult for Zest to achieve its ambitious objectives. So, to move forward more effectively, Zest had to scale its capabilities while maintaining consistently high-quality output across its multiple studio locations and brands.
This included upskilling existing team members and ensuring colleagues could use complex tools with confidence. As part of this process, reliable access to equipment was essential, along with guidance on product selection, workflow development and an integrated long-term approach to planning.
“One of the biggest challenges of bringing production in-house was just to make sure we had the right expertise and the right set-up in place from day one,” says Leanne Woods, studio operations manager for GM and food at Zest. ”We wanted to make sure we could match the standard of external agencies. This meant that our choice of partner was absolutely vital.”
Having worked closely with CVP for many years, Zest once again drew on its trusted relationship to identify the equipment and workflows needed to properly expand its in-house production capabilities in line with objectives.
CVP then worked closely with Zest to match technology to creative ambition, helping the team identify the right tools to maximise the quality of in-house output. This included providing advice on a wide range of requirements, including camera systems, lenses, lighting, motion-control tools and workflow set-up. The work was driven by the core objective of ensuring equipment choices aligned with both day-to-day e-commerce work and higher-end campaign requirements.
As part of this process, CVP provided direct access to manufacturers, which enabled Zest to receive expert training and product demonstrations from the manufacturers themselves, including on-site testing before purchasing. This played an important role in helping the team make confident decisions about key investments.
“CVP gives us a holistic ability to choose equipment, test it and get the right advice when we need it,” explains Andy Kuchanny, senior videographer at Zest. “They make sure that vendors come on site to train the team, loan us equipment to wet test and help us plan for future workflows.”
To further support the implementation process, CVP delivered on-site training on MoCo sliders, LightBridge, Steadicam and virtual production techniques. This enabled staff to rapidly upskill and gain practical experience with new production technologies. CVP also provided ongoing after-sales support, such as very fast turnaround on repairs and loan units, so production could always continue without interruption.
To support Zest’s wider technology strategy, including its move into food content, CVP’s consultancy team helped plan future workflows and explore new production capabilities. By working closely together, the teams built a symbiotic professional relationship in which CVP supported Zest’s long-term development rather than simply supplying technology and services.
Over recent months, Zest has strengthened its in-house production capabilities significantly, achieving faster turnarounds and better creative quality, backed by the confidence to take on more complex work for multiple brands. For example, the upgraded set-up has allowed Zest to bring food photography and video in-house for the first time, opening up a new category of work.
“Working with CVP fills me with confidence because they have always been super reliable and full of expert advice,” says Leanne Woods. “They feel like an extension of our team and support us in being set up for success.”
With access to more advanced tools, including open gate cameras and accurate motion control, the Zest team can capture multiple formats from a single technological set-up, significantly improving efficiency. Backed by more consistent workflow, they can deliver accurate, reliable product representation across all brands and content types.
The partnership with CVP also provides ongoing expertise and support to help Zest plan for future production needs and adopt the latest technologies with complete confidence. Collectively, these initiatives have enabled this growing team to match the standards of external agencies, supporting its long-term goal of becoming a best-in-class in-house operation.
“Our shoots now match the quality of work you’d normally see in higher-end commercial campaigns,” says Kuchanny. “With CVP’s support, we can keep pushing our capabilities and move into even more advanced production work.”
Delivering solutions to fuel your creativity
The CVP projects team delivers end-to-end solutions, from design and specification to seamless installation and training. With a flexible and collaborative approach, it tailors each project to your needs, leveraging an extensive supplier network and industry connections to ensure the best technology fit for you.
Its expert project management and reliable equipment supply bring together the right people and technology to create future-proof studio environments.
Talk to the team on 0208 380 7400 or email [email protected] to learn more.
Find out more at cvp.com
This article appears in the February/March 2026 issue of Definition
