Nature’s Path wanted to know which new products to continue, improve or retire, and had no systematic way to track them. FreshBI started from that business question, defined what an “innovation item” is, and built a Power BI and SharePoint platform on that foundation, deliberately ready for AI.
Nature’s Path is an organic food company known for its cereals and snacks, and for a drive to keep innovating. Innovation only pays off when the business can see which new products are working, and decide what to do next.
Nature’s Path partnered with FreshBI to design a tailored data platform using Power BI and SharePoint. While the first release did not yet include AI, it was intentionally designed as a foundation for future AI enablement, with scalable data governance, performance tracking and insight generation.
Despite its innovative drive, Nature’s Path had no systematic method for tracking the performance of its new and innovative products. Without that structure, there was no analytics framework for deciding which products to continue, improve or retire.
There was no consistent way to track how new and innovative products performed over time.
Without an analytics framework, deciding what to continue, improve or retire couldn’t rest on data.
Leadership couldn’t fully see past performance trends, current strengths and weaknesses, or prescribe actions aligned with desired outcomes.
The team wanted to move beyond basic reporting toward greater confidence, efficiency and profitability as a data-driven organization.
Before building a single visual, FreshBI worked out what an “innovation item” is and which attributes describe it. That definition became the one source every report reads from.
A centralized SharePoint list holds every innovation item with its relevant attributes, a consistent framework for tracking innovation performance.
The list was blended with Nature’s Path’s existing Products table, so innovation attributes and product performance live in one unified dataset.
Departments now reference the same data source, so cross-functional conversations start from the same numbers.
Nature’s Path partnered with FreshBI to design and implement a tailored solution using Power BI and SharePoint, with no need for large-scale internal development.
FreshBI created a centralized SharePoint list that houses all “Innovation” items along with their relevant attributes. This repository is the foundation for systematic tracking and management of innovative products, and a consistent framework for innovation performance.
FreshBI blended the new SharePoint list with Nature’s Path’s existing Products table, producing a unified dataset that supports rich analytics. A dynamic, interactive Power BI dashboard lets the team:
The dashboard includes a customizable, exportable table for ad hoc analysis, so different teams can explore the data more deeply and answer questions relevant to their own roles, supporting flexible and independent decision-making.
Each step was designed to build toward a solution that provides visibility and also lets teams across the organization act on data insights in real time.
SharePoint list creation to centralize innovation-related data.
Datasets from SharePoint and the existing product database combined.
Dashboard development in Power BI with dynamic visualizations.
Custom tables deployed for ad hoc filtering, analysis and exports.
Nature’s Path can now understand not just what happened in the past, but why it happened, what is likely to happen next, and how to shape future outcomes: a true step toward becoming a data-driven company.
The first release deliberately did not include AI. It was built so large language models and predictive analytics can be added without rework.
Innovation data is structured for easy querying and classification, the shape an LLM needs to answer questions reliably.
A unified dataset architecture supports predictive analytics on top of the same governed definitions.
Ad hoc exploration and real-time decision-making are the precursors to autonomous, AI-driven recommendations.
Wondering whether your own data is ready for AI? Start with AI-Ready Data, or see how we approach data platform architecture.
AI-ready means the data is organized so AI can be added without rebuilding. Nature’s Path’s innovation data is structured for easy querying and classification and joined into a unified dataset, the same foundation large language models and predictive analytics need. See AI-Ready Data.
A dashboard only answers the questions it was built for. Nature’s Path began with a decision (which innovations to continue, improve or retire) and defined the data around it, so every chart maps to a real choice the business makes. See our Power BI dashboard services.
Yes, when the definitions are governed. The SharePoint list is the system of record for what an innovation item is and which attributes describe it, and Power BI reads from it alongside existing product data, so every report shares one definition.
FreshBI typically delivers a first production solution in as little as three weeks. See pricing.
We’ll help you define the data once, see the portfolio clearly, and get ready for AI along the way.
