Irina Risukhina,

Founder & Technical Consultant | www.ProductSuccessPartners.com @ Product Success Partners

About

𝗧𝗪𝗢 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗕𝗟𝗘𝗠𝗦. 𝗢𝗡𝗘 𝗥𝗢𝗢𝗧 𝗖𝗔𝗨𝗦𝗘. Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) startups hit walls when the gap between a great product and a scalable operation becomes too expensive to figure out alone. AI and food tech companies hit walls when their tools - built in controlled environments - meet the reality of a food service or manufacturing floor and underperform. In both cases, what's missing is the same thing: someone who has actually operated inside Fortune 500 food and beverage environments at scale, and can translate that experience into decisions that work in the real world. That's what I do. 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗜 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚 15 years in F&B operations across Coca-Cola, Starbucks, and Cadbury Schweppes spanning Operational Excellence, R&D, formulation, quality assurance, supply chain, regulatory compliance, and supplier/co-man management. GFSI Lead Auditor. I've operated inside the exact environments where CPG products are made and where AI tools are now being deployed. I know what those environments actually look like under pressure, at scale, and when things go wrong. I also founded and ran my own CPG brand for a few years and I understand the cash flow constraints, the co-manufacturer negotiations, and the retail readiness requirements that founders face on the other side of the table. 𝗜 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗞 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗧𝗪𝗢 𝗧𝗬𝗣𝗘𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗖𝗟𝗜𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗦 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗣𝗚 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀: Product development · Pilot testing & Co-manufacturer selection · Quality systems · Regulatory compliance · Retail readiness · Operational scaling 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗔𝗜 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀: Operational environment assessment · Deployment readiness evaluation · Real-world F&B context for product and engineering teams · Enterprise sales support where operator credibility matters 𝗖𝗣𝗚 𝗜𝗡𝗗𝗨𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗦: Food & Beverage · Health & Wellness · Beauty & Personal Care Available for project-based engagements, fractional roles and advisory retainers. 📧 irina@ProductSuccessPartners.com 🌐 www.ProductSuccessPartners.com

Country

United States

City

Greater Seattle Area

Industry

Food Production

Skill

Beverage Manufacturing, Strategy Implementation, Operational Efficiency, Dairy Science, quality management system, Global Sourcing, Product Quality, Change Management, Health & Wellness, Customer Experience, Supply Chain Operations, Rapid Prototyping, Proof of Concept, Design of Experiments (DOE), Packaging, Budget Management, Digital Transformation, Product Lifecycle Management, Multi-channel Retail, CPG Industry

Experience

Founder & Technical Consultant | www.ProductSuccessPartners.com

Product Success Partners

2024-10 - Present · 2 yrs

Greater Seattle Area

Provide technical consulting for emerging & growing CPG brands, specializing in product development & innovation, quality systems, co-manufacturing & supplier quality management and operational scaling strategies. Core Services: ✅Product Concept to Reality Assessment ✅Supplier Risk Assessment ✅Retail-Ready Quality Systems ✅Strategic Product Innovation Support ✅Technical Crisis Resolution Specializations: CPG product development, co-manufacturer evaluation, supplier quality management, food safety compliance, regulatory navigation, operational scaling, retail partnership preparation, health & wellness

Venture Mechanics Catapult Accelerator Mentor

Venture Mechanics

2025-5 - Present · 1 yr 5 mos

FoodTech, AgTech, BioTech, CPG e-commerce startup advisor. Venture Mechanics is a vibrant startup accelerator and community of entrepreneurs, investors, mentors, and innovators focused on supporting venture-scale startups from concept to funding. Through its Catapult Accelerator, educational events, and venture competitions, Venture Mechanics provides hands-on mentorship and strategic support to help founders grow rapidly and build high-ROI businesses. Venture Mechanics is sector-agnostic, from FoodTech, ClimateTech to AI/ML, to Aerospace and E-commerce.

Founder & CEO

Alice and Bella

2022-5 - Present · 4 yrs 5 mos

Greater Seattle Area

Created and launched 0 to 1 category-disrupting CPG e-commerce brand with 30+ wellness & beauty products from concept to market, achieving profitability within the first year of operations

Entrepreneur/Principal Nutritionist

Holistic Nutritional Therapy

2018-10 - 2024-11 · 6 yrs 2 mos

Global

Provided personalized holistic nutritional therapy to clients worldwide resulting in documented improvements in energy levels, stress management, and workplace productivity.

Sr. Process Engineering Manager, Packaging & Processing Technology, Innovation & R&D

Talking Rain Beverage Co®, makers of Sparkling Ice

2017-6 - 2017-11 · 6 mos

Preston, Washington

Sr. Process Engineering Manager, Operational Excellence, Supply Chain

Talking Rain Beverage Co®, makers of Sparkling Ice

2016-12 - 2017-6 · 7 mos

Preston, Washington

Sr. Engineer, Research and Development

Starbucks

2014-1 - 2016-12 · 3 yrs

Starbucks HQ, Seattle, WA

Quality Assurance Manager, RTE, RTD, bakery, beverage ingredients

Starbucks

2011-1 - 2014-1 · 3 yrs 1 mo

Seattle, WA

Quality Assurance Specialist for Seattle's Best Coffee, Food, Bevetages and Merchandise products

Starbucks

2010-8 - 2011-1 · 6 mos

Seattle, WA

Technical Consultant, Manufacturing and Food Service

Beyond Celiac

2009-6 - 2010-8 · 1 yr 3 mos

Greater Seattle Area

Created allergen control policy for food service & larger-scale manufacturing plants. Audited & trained food service on gluten-free product compliance, allergen control training & 3rd Party Audit preparation

PHD Researcher

Moscow State University of Food Production (MGUPP)

2007-8 - 2010-8 · 3 yrs 1 mo

Moscow City, Russia

PhD Dissertation Research (incomplete): "Development and Characterization of Fermented Beverage Systems for Enhanced Delivery and Bioavailability of Functional Micronutrients Specifically Formulated for Nutritional Support in Individuals with Celiac Disease”