FreshDirect’s Content Strategy Cooks with PhotoShelter

Meeting the demand for fresh content 

FreshDirect pioneered online grocery shopping in 2002, offering the best in fresh food delivered directly to homes and offices. Operating from a state-of-the-art facility in the Bronx, they serve the greater New York City metropolitan area and seasonal locations. FreshDirect prides itself on innovation, delivering high-quality, fresh food and creating joyful, delicious food experiences for its customers.

Their unique rating system, where experts taste over 800 fresh products daily, guides customers to the best produce and seafood. This commitment to quality and customer satisfaction, backed by a 100% Happiness Guarantee, meant that their digital presence needed to reflect the same high standards.

The challenge: Disconnected systems and slow access 

Chris Kopsachilis, FreshDirect’s Creative Director, oversees the visual strategy that brings the company’s commitment to freshness to life. His team’s daily tasks involve generating a high volume of visual content for various platforms. But their system made it difficult for teams across the company to access the images they needed.

• Selling visually without a physical store. Since customers can’t look at items in a store, FreshDirect uses imagery to build customer trust. The team needed an easy way to show the impact of their creative efforts for internal stakeholders. 
• High demand for content across multiple channels. FreshDirect needs a constant stream of content and requests for images were slowing down the production process. Chris highlighted the importance of getting content out fast: “The efficiency of getting a promo out the door, or an image up on the site where the customer can see it, is key.” 
• Disorganized internal storage. The legacy system was server-based, hard to access, and required significant internal support. “It was run on a server in-house, which really wasn’t ideal. It required a lot of processing power and networking support.” said Chris. 
• Slow searches for assets. People throughout the company struggled to find the files they needed, leading to repeated requests to the photo team. 
• Limited control when non-creative teams needed assets. Merchandising and other departments needed images, but the creative team still needed to maintain control to prevent misuse. Chris emphasized, “The ability to share with other folks who may need certain access, but not everything, is important. That level of control is good, because we don’t want teams using certain things without brand oversight.”

“You need to see all of the assets as they’re being created. Speed is critical for us, and when product changes or promotions shift, we need to quickly go back, find images, and build something new.”

Chris Kopsachilis, Creative Director, FreshDirect

The solution: Speed and control through cloud-based DAM

FreshDirect moved from a challenging, server-based system to a cloud-based solution that transformed how they managed and distributed their visual content. It allowed them to improve speed, collaboration, and brand control.

• Faster content execution. PhotoShelter helps FreshDirect’s team make quick changes when inventory shifts or promotions need to go live quickly. Chris explained, “We needed a cloud solution, so PhotoShelter was perfect. It gave us the speed and flexibility we needed without adding complexity.” 
• AI visual search finds assets quickly. The ability to quickly recall images prevented wasted time and supported rapid creative decisions. Chris found this feature essential: “We have so many assets in there that we’re probably overlooking, and the AI search uncovers older work we might have forgotten about.” 
• Permissioned sharing protects the brand. Stakeholders can now get the assets they need without losing brand identity. Chris noted, “We have the ability to share with other folks who may need certain access to our assets, but not everything. That makes collaboration easier while still protecting the brand.” 
• Smart Galleries and IDs keep efficiency at scale. Chris shared, “We’ve assigned the product description number to the product shots, and we’ve reduced the need to overly meta tag. We’re gaining more efficiency by creating [Smart Galleries] that are need-based rather than overly structured.”

“All of that goes back to speed. The efficiency of getting a promo out the door is key. We’re always in a rush to do a lot of different things at one time.”

Chris Kopsachilis, Creative Director, FreshDirect

FreshDirect’s commitment to excellence shines through its content

FreshDirect’s adoption of PhotoShelter has fundamentally changed how they handle visual content, enabling them to maintain their promise of freshness and quality in the digital space. The move to a cloud-based system addressed critical challenges, from slow asset retrieval to the need for brand oversight. This shift has not only improved internal operations but also strengthened FreshDirect’s ability to connect with customers through compelling, timely visuals.

“Working with PhotoShelter has been vital to our success and I’ve been a strong advocate for the platform since bringing it to FreshDirect. Moving through this amount of creative work without it at this pace would simply not be possible.”

Chris Kopsachilis, Creative Director, FreshDirect