Introduction to the Vision One Story

For just over 25 years, we have been dedicated to helping companies develop and grow through insights that will transform their businesses.

The Vision One story spans almost 26 years of arming clients with new actionable insights, helping them to understand their customers, develop new products, and grow their brands. More recently,  over the past five years or so, the company has been transformed, improving its fortunes in becoming one of the UK’s fastest-growing full-service insight agencies. Despite the current economic and cost-of-living pressures, we still have plenty of reasons to be optimistic for the future!

It is fair to say that Vision One is unrecognisable compared to its humble origins. Tony Lewis (founder) established the company after spending 16 years clientside, working as a researcher and marketer in blue-chip companies across food & drink, travel & tourism, retail, and financial services. Tony’s scientific background and desire to innovate and discover new approaches helped shape the company’s early successes, and this passion for innovation remains a mainstay of the company. A few years later, after setting up the company, Tony was joined by ex-Arcadia colleague and long-term business partner Jas Gidda.

Acquisition

The company was successful, and in 2012 it acquired Heawood Research Ltd – a specialist consumer insight agency based in Ellesmere Port and serving a range of leading Food and Drink brands. The acquisition aimed to facilitate the Directors’ move to the North and North West of the country.

But 2016 saw the owners discover a new lease on life and a radical new vision for the company. It was no longer happy with its happy-go-lucky style of management and business. A new focus was required.

The Impetus For Change

In 2016,  the owners discovered a new lease on life and a radical new vision for the company was created. A new focus was required, and Investment in training and external consultancy support helped create a new vision and direction for the business.

Quality First

At the heart of the new strategy was a focus on quality, service, and continuous improvement, particularly on fostering our newfound love of research. Despite our already high levels of client satisfaction, the first step was to raise the bar further, and this involved over a year of hard work to achieve the internationally recognised ISO 20252 accreditation – the highest standard in the research industry. The company also embraced all forms of insights, including Behavioural Science, Nudges, System1, and Neuromarketing, enabling it to provide the most rounded solutions and insights for clients.

‘Success breeds Success’

Success quickly followed our commitment to quality, and in 2017,  Vision One won the Recommended Agencies ‘Best Market Research Agency of the year. Further successes quickly followed, and in 2020 and 2021, Vision One also won The Drum’s “Best Research Agency” two years running – the only agency to ever achieve this to date.