Nicki Russell - Passionate about Product Innovation in

Nicki Russell - Passionate about Product Innovation

Commander · DISC type D
Strategic Advisor at Fresh to Go
📍 City of Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa

Nicki is an award-winning product innovation specialist and the founder of food brand Think Flavour, leveraging over 27 years of experience in the South African retail sector. A graduate of Arundel High School, she previously led innovation and product development for retail giant Pick n Pay, shaping their strategic direction.

Outside of her entrepreneurial ventures, Nicki is a passionate foodie and mother who champions the importance of work-life balance. Her recent focus has been on bringing her personal dream of a proudly South African food brand to life, creating products that deliver easy and flavourful solutions for consumers.

Unique fact: Throughout her corporate career, Nicki has won an astonishing 35 Sunday Times awards for product innovation.

Read the full overview →
Experience
28 Years
Current Role
Strategic Advisor
Job Level
Leadership
Location
City of Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
Personality Overview

How Nicki shows up

Very Quick
Strong-Willed
Candid & Clear

They do not care very much about building rapport or relationships. They like to stay in control of the negotiation or defining of the terms. They respond well to strong and respectful communication.

Priorities

Topics Nicki cares about

Food Innovation
Her entire career is built on food innovation, culminating in launching her own brand, Think Flavour, with unique products like dry-to-wet marinades.
Entrepreneurial Drive
She left a long-term corporate career, stating that the need to be an entrepreneur was an "itch I couldn't stop scratching, " to launch her own company.
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Career

Work history

3-2025
Strategic Advisor
Fresh to Go
7-2024
Founder and CEO
Think Flavour
3-2022 - 6-2024
Head Of Product Development & Technical PNP
Pick n Pay
10-2020 - 2-2022
Head Of Product Development, Merchandise – Pick n Pay
Pick n Pay
10-2018 - 2-2022
Head of Innovation and Trend
Pick n Pay
In the press

Media appearances

No media yetWe could not find public media appearances for this person.
Education
Education details unavailable
University of Cape Town
1984 - 1998
High School
Arundel High School
Social presence
in
Behavioral profile

DISC profile (public)

D

Dominance (D)

Dominance (D) reflects how goal and task oriented a person is, and their ability to accomplish results irrespective of how demanding the circumstances might be. Those scoring high tend to be motivated by winning, competition, and success.

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