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Dmitry Moskalenko
Brand strategist, Moscow, since 2016

I build brands
that grow
in revenue

For ten years I have worked as a brand manager for importers and distributors of coffee equipment, coffee and water. Now I help companies with their brands from the outside: launches, positioning, running a portfolio.

Discuss a project See case studies
BRAND
Dmitry Moskalenko, brand manager
×4
Revenue growth
from ₽100M to ₽400M
20+
Brands
under management
10
Years
in brand management
Scroll
01 / Who I am
About me

Ten years in-house
at importers

Since 2016 I have been a brand manager at companies that import and sell coffee equipment, coffee and drinking water. I was responsible for the range, prices, certification, retail listings and for how much the brand actually earned. Today I run a portfolio of 20+ brands.

That is why I start any conversation about a brand with sales and margin: what sells, to whom, and why it stopped selling. The logo and the slogan come later, once that part is clear.

I know HoReCa equipment, coffee, water and beverages best. I work with other categories too, but there I need more time to get up to speed.

3
New brands
brought to the Russian market
20+
Brands
under management
10+
Brand strategies
put into practice
×4
Revenue growth
across the portfolio
02 / What I do

Services

The tasks people usually bring to me. If yours is not on the list, write to me and we will work it out.

01
◎
Brand audit and strategy

I look at how the brand sells today, who buys it and how it differs from the products next to it on the shelf. You get a positioning and a plan: what to do and in what order.

Audit Positioning Benchmarking
↗
02
⬡
New brand launch

Naming, packaging, certification, first shipments and first sales. I have launched three brands myself, from choosing the factory to getting on the shelf, and I know where projects like this usually stall.

GTM strategy Naming Packaging
↗
03
▲
Brand management and growth

I run a brand or a portfolio the same way I did in-house: range, pricing, P&L, distribution, marketplaces and the online store.

P&L E-commerce Distribution
↗
04
⊕
Repositioning

For when a brand looks dated or is stuck in the budget segment. We change the style, the messages and the audience in a way that keeps existing customers. I did something similar with a HoReCa equipment category and moved it from economy to upper mid-range.

Rebranding Visual identity Communications
↗
05
◈
Content strategy

Tone, formats, channels and editorial guidelines, so that your team or agency knows what to write on the brand's behalf and how, and does not start from scratch every time.

SMM Tone of voice Editorial guidelines
↗
06
⊞
Consulting

A one-off meeting with the owner or the marketing lead. We go through the situation and decide what to tackle first.

Strategy session Brand review Priorities
↗
03 / What I have done

Case studies

Each one opens into a full page: the task, what we did and which documents came out of it.

01
Hiwater, Positioning
Brand strategy for a new player in the water market

Brand strategy for Hiwater: positioning against competitors, key messages, a visual concept and content for going online.

View case
↑ share
Higher awareness
and market share
02
Fiamma Espresso, Rebranding
Refreshing the Fiamma Espresso private label

We updated the visual style and positioning of the Fiamma private label. The brand looks more current, and customers find it easier to understand what is on offer.

View case
+40%
Wider
product lines
03
BREW.TECH, Brand platform
New design and brand platform for BREW.TECH

Coffee machines and grinders assembled in Russia that have to hold their own next to Italian and German ones. We built the brand platform, the visual system and the brand book.

View case
×2
Higher conversion
in sales talks
04
Svam Group, Water brand launch
Launching Gletcher Water, from concept to national retail chains

An in-house water brand for a beverage producer: positioning, packaging, certification and negotiations with retail chains. Gletcher got onto the shelves of X5, Lenta, METRO and Azbuka Vkusa and held 2% of a ₽12 billion market.

View case
2%
Market share
in a ₽12B market
05
Profile Coffee, Brand platform
Positioning and mission for a Moscow specialty roastery

The roastery had grown without a brand platform, and its website, packaging and social media each said something different. We created the positioning "Coffee with names", the mission, values and tone. Now everything sounds the same.

View case
40+
Wholesale coffee shop clients
after the rebrand
04 / Portfolio
16 brands I have worked with
05 / Experience
Track record

Where I
have worked

All my experience is in-house, with my own sales plan and a budget I had to defend in front of the owner.

Most of it is import and distribution: bring in a foreign brand, certify it, find distributors, reach agreements with retail chains, open an online channel. The figures below come from those companies.

2025–2026
Equip Group
Brand Manager, HoReCa equipment
A portfolio of imported brands with ₽125M turnover (2025). Launch of the company's own brand TAOLIN: factory in China, positioning, brand book, first shipments. Cut dead stock from ₽13M to ₽5M in a year.
2022–2025
Torgovy Dizain
Brand Manager, HoReCa equipment
Moved the category from economy to upper mid-range: revenue from ₽10M to ₽70M, margin from 17% to 28% in 2.5 years. Took the EKSI private label from choosing a factory to the shelf in 7 months, certification included.
2020–2022
SVAM Group
Brand Manager, Drinking water
Held Harrogate's 2% share (about ₽240M by Nielsen) while three competitors entered, with no budget increase. Launched Gletcher Water from scratch to national listings: X5, METRO, Azbuka Vkusa.
2018–2019
Gorizia Company
Brand Manager, Coffee
Four brands with turnover of about ₽80M, sales up 30% in a year. Built the online channel from scratch: margin from 12% to 27% in 8 months.
2016–2018
Torgovy Dizain
Brand Manager, HoReCa equipment
Brought the Portuguese brand Fiamma to the Russian market: localization, certification, three distributors. Category revenue from ₽10M to ₽60M in two years.
Full resume
06 / Testimonials

Testimonials

"

Dmitry helped us bring order to what had been chaos. After the strategy session it became clear who our customer is and why they should choose us over a competitor. Sales went up within a quarter.

AK
Alexey K.
Director, equipment distributor
"

We were launching a new water brand and thought we knew what we were doing. After working with Dmitry we realised the positioning was completely wrong. We redid it. Now we are growing in the HoReCa segment.

MV
Maria V.
Founder, water brand
"

We worked on repositioning an Italian brand for the Russian market. Dmitry understands how imported brands work: where to adapt and where to keep the original character.

DP
Denis P.
CEO, coffee equipment importer
07 / Publications

Publications in the media

I wrote for T—Zh (Tinkoff Journal) about brands I had studied.

Tinkoff Journal
Strategy for a roaster: how to build a coffee roastery brand
A case study on developing the positioning and brand platform for a specialty roastery.
Read on T—Zh
Tinkoff Journal
Protein bars: a product review in the sports nutrition category
A product analysis: ingredients, positioning and competition on the shelf in the sports nutrition category.
Read on T—Zh
08 / Questions

Frequently asked questions

How much does a full brand launch cost? +
It depends on the scope. Strategy and positioning cost one amount; a full launch with packaging, certification and listings costs another. At the first meeting (it is free) we go through the task and I give you a price range. We often start with an audit: after it, it is clear what is worth doing at all.
How do you get onto the shelves of X5, Lenta and METRO? +
A buyer looks at four things: whether you can supply consistently, how much money you are ready to put into promotion, whether the price is justified (ideally with Nielsen data), and who will deal with problems on the ground. I put that package together for the specific chain and take it into the negotiations. A listing usually takes 3 to 6 months; with a package like this I have done it in 6 weeks.
Do you only work with FMCG, or with any brand? +
Most of my experience is in beverages and HoReCa equipment, so both FMCG and B2B. Positioning and a brand platform work the same way in any category, but in one I don't know I need more time to understand the market. I have worked with brands from China, Portugal and the UK.
How is a brand manager different from a marketer? +
A marketer is usually responsible for promotion and traffic. A brand manager is responsible for how the buyer sees the product and how much the brand earns. In my work that means positioning, range, pricing, listings and margin: everything that later shows up in the P&L.
Can we work remotely? +
Yes. Strategy, audits, the brand platform and preparation for retail negotiations can all be done remotely. I am based in Moscow and travel for meetings when there is no way around it.
08 / Contact

Tell me
about your brand

Let's have a half-hour call: you tell me what is going on, I tell you how I can help and whether you need a brand strategist at all. The first conversation is free.

📞
+7 993 367 31 78
✉
i@creativedm.ru
✈
Message me on Telegram
◆
VK
Fill in the brief Message me on Telegram Open resume

Brand manager and brand strategist in Moscow

My name is Dmitry Moskalenko. I am a brand manager and brand strategist with 10 years of experience in FMCG and B2B brand management. I work with importers, distributors and manufacturers and help them build brands that grow in revenue.

What I can do as part of my brand management services: brand strategy and positioning, a full new brand launch, running a brand portfolio, repositioning and rebranding, getting a product onto the shelves of national retail chains. My categories are coffee equipment, drinking water, soft drinks and specialty coffee.

I have brought brands from Portugal, China and the UK to the Russian market, launched private labels from scratch, and got products into X5, Lenta, METRO and Azbuka Vkusa. A brand portfolio I managed grew from ₽50M to ₽400M. I check decisions against Nielsen data, the P&L and sales.

If you need a brand launch, a brand platform or an audit of an existing brand, write to me. The first conversation is free. I live in Moscow and also work remotely.