Manufacturing case study
Building an Ongoing AI Adoption Program for Freshpet
How Netsurit helped Freshpet expand from an executive Microsoft 365 Copilot pilot to a multi-platform AI enablement program supporting more than 400 licensed users.
About
Freshpet is a fresh pet food manufacturing and consumer products company operating in a business environment where freshness, quality, nutrition, trust and product availability are central to the customer experience. The company’s work spans multiple functions, including manufacturing, supply chain, quality, consumer care, sales, marketing, eCommerce, finance and business intelligence. As AI tools became more relevant to everyday work, Freshpet needed a practical way to help teams understand how these platforms could support productivity, workflow improvement and decision-making, while still reinforcing responsible use, factual validation and human accountability.
Industry
Fresh pet food manufacturing and consumer products
Company Size
1,200
Headquarters
Bedminster, New Jersey
Founded
2006
Services
AI adoption and enablement
Microsoft 365 Copilot
AI Labs
Prompt engineering
Multi-platform AI training
Workflow development
Challenge
Freshpet’s AI enablement journey began with a focused Microsoft 365 Copilot pilot for 14 executives. As the program expanded beyond the executive group, the business needed a way to support a wider range of
users, departments, workflows and AI maturity levels.
Employees were not all starting from the same place. Some were already experimenting with tools such as ChatGPT, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Claude, Gemini and other AI platforms, while others needed more foundational guidance. Freshpet also needed enablement that went beyond product features and connected AI to practical business use cases.
The challenge was to build a program that could support responsible AI use, practical adoption, cross-functional learning and ongoing support as the technology landscape continued to change.
- The program needed to scale from an executive pilot to broader employee enablement
- Learners had different levels of AI experience and platform familiarity
- Training needed to connect AI tools to real business workflows, not generic feature lists
Solution
Netsurit helped Freshpet build an ongoing AI adoption program combining structured AI Labs, weekly Office Hours, customized demonstrations and workflow-led enablement.
The program began with Microsoft 365 Copilot and then expanded to include Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Gemini Nano Banana Pro, AI image generation, AI image editing, reusable prompts, Claude Projects, Artifacts and Skills, cross-application Microsoft 365 workflows, and department-specific business use cases.
The strongest results came from the combination of recurring AI Labs and weekly Office Hours. AI Labs provided demonstration-led learning around defined capabilities or business workflows. Weekly Office Hours gave employees a regular place to return with questions, troubleshoot real work, compare platforms and refine prompts
- AI Labs delivered structured, practical learning around specific AI platforms, features and workflows
- Weekly Office Hours provided ongoing support, reinforcement and troubleshooting
- Customized assets and demonstrations helped employees apply AI to recognizable business scenarios
Freshpet’s Story
Freshpet’s AI adoption journey began with a focused Microsoft 365 Copilot pilot for 14 executives. This initial pilot created an opportunity to introduce AI at leadership level, establish expectations and demonstrate practical business value before expanding access more broadly.
Following the executive pilot, the program expanded to a broader group of 50 employees. This introduced a wider range of departments, roles, business needs and levels of AI experience. It became clear that successful AI adoption would require more than a single training series. Freshpet needed a program that could evolve with its users, its business needs and the rapid pace of AI platform development.
Over time, the licensed user population grew to 408 users, showing that the initiative had developed well beyond its original pilot scope. What began as Microsoft 365 Copilot enablement became a wider AI learning program covering multiple platforms, reusable prompts, workflow development, data analysis, competitive intelligence, executive reporting and image generation.
By working with Netsurit, Freshpet was able to create a recurring enablement model that combined structured learning with ongoing support. Employees could learn in AI Labs, apply what they learned in their own work, return to Office Hours with questions and continue refining their workflows over time.
Before Netsurit
Before the ongoing AI enablement model was established, Freshpet’s AI journey was still in its early stages. Microsoft 365 Copilot had the potential to support everyday productivity, improve workflow efficiency and help employees work differently across Microsoft 365 applications. However, AI adoption could not be treated as a simple license deployment. Employees needed to understand how to use the tools responsibly, where AI could help, where human review remained essential and how to apply AI to the work they actually performed.
Freshpet also had a mixed-maturity user base. Some employees were already exploring AI tools for tasks such as drafting, summarizing, Excel formulas, meeting recaps, research, business cases, presentations, social media responses, data visualization and troubleshooting, while others had limited experience or no current AI usage.
Without a recurring enablement structure, there was a risk that early curiosity would not translate into consistent, practical use. Employees needed more than a one-time demonstration and instead needed structured learning, realistic examples, support when outputs were weak or incomplete, and guidance on how to turn successful prompts into reusable working methods.
Netsurit as a Partner
Netsurit approached Freshpet’s AI enablement as an ongoing adoption journey rather than a once-off training engagement.
The program was designed to support real business use cases, different levels of AI maturity and a rapidly changing technology environment. This meant combining structured instruction with flexible support. AI Labs gave employees focused, demonstration-led learning around specific platforms, features and workflows. Weekly Office Hours gave them a regular forum to bring questions, troubleshoot real work, compare tools and refine outputs.
A key part of the approach was customization. Netsurit used Freshpet-relevant business language and scenarios across areas such as freshness, quality, nutrition, trust, retailer readiness, consumer education, product availability, operational consistency, cross-functional alignment, risks, decisions, owners and next steps.
Responsible AI use was also embedded throughout the program. Learners were guided on data protection, secure usage, human review, fact validation, accountability and the importance of separating confirmed information from assumptions.
How Netsurit Helped Freshpet
Netsurit helped Freshpet grow its AI enablement initiative from an executive Microsoft 365 Copilot pilot into a broader, ongoing, multi-platform AI adoption program.
The program started with leadership alignment and AI fundamentals, then moved into everyday productivity, collaborative Microsoft 365 applications, specialized departmental implementation, governance and best practices. This helped position AI adoption as a business enablement initiative rather than a technology rollout.
Netsurit also developed AI Labs and weekly Office Hours as the central delivery model. AI Labs covered topics such as Microsoft 365 Copilot, meeting recap workflows, prompt engineering, reusable prompts, Excel data analysis, Claude Projects, Claude Artifacts, Claude Skills, Claude Design, competitive intelligence, executive reporting, AI image generation, AI image editing and multi-platform comparison.
Weekly Office Hours allowed employees to ask follow-up questions, bring current business challenges, receive prompting assistance, troubleshoot weak outputs and explore newly released AI capabilities.
- Supported the initial 14-user executive Microsoft 365 Copilot pilot
- Helped expand the program to 50 employees and then 408 licensed users
- Delivered structured AI Labs and weekly Office Hours
- Developed reusable prompts, learner guides, presenter guides and customized workflow assets
- Supported learning across Microsoft 365 Copilot, ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and other AI platforms
- Embedded responsible AI, human accountability and factual validation throughout
Scaling Up with Netsurit
With Netsurit’s support, Freshpet’s AI program has continued to grow in both scale and depth.
The initiative moved from executive Microsoft 365 Copilot enablement to a wider learning program that supports multiple departments, roles and use cases. Discovery inputs included teams across IT, Business Intelligence, Internal Audit, Finance, Accounting, Consumer Care, Manufacturing, Human Resources, Operations, Sales, Marketing, Data Analytics, Training, eCommerce, Retail, Packaging Design and Merchandising, and Business Development.
The program also expanded from simple prompting to more advanced AI workflows. Learners explored Microsoft 365 workflows, reusable prompt development, Excel analysis, Claude Projects, Artifacts, Skills and Design, competitive intelligence, executive reporting, and AI image generation and editing.
The recurring model is what makes the program scalable. Employees can learn a capability in an AI Lab, test it in their own work, return to Office Hours with questions and refine it into a repeatable method. This creates a practical adoption cycle: learn, experiment, encounter questions, return for support, refine and reuse.
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