Originally published November 2019 | Updated July 2026

When Taruna Sanghi enrolled in UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education’s Applied Sensory and Consumer Science Certificate Program, she was new to the field, working as a scientist at Mondelez India Foods Pvt Ltd in Mumbai and looking to build her confidence. Since completing the program in 2019, she’s advanced her career and now works as a senior product experience specialist with Nestlé in the United Kingdom.

Building Confidence in a New Field

Taruna worked in new product development for a decade before transitioning to consumer science. 

“I realized that I lacked first-hand access to sources of information utterly important to my NPD task – consumer psyche and feedback,” she said. “This sparked a desire in me to start learning consumer science in greater detail beyond the limited exposure that my development role had to offer.” 

She decided to pursue a career in sensory and consumer science and joined the Consumer Science Department at Mondelez. Despite her background in product development and a master’s degree in food science and nutrition, Taruna felt she needed a stronger foundation to succeed in her new role. 

“I knew the names of the sensory and consumer tests we conducted and what to expect out of them, but an in-depth understanding of these and the confidence to select the right kind of test and recommend them to other developers was missing.” 

Inspired to expand her knowledge of sensory and consumer science, Taruna enrolled in CPE’s certificate program. 

“This program offered exactly the kind of content I was looking for.”

Applying Knowledge to Real-World Work

After completing the certificate program, Taruna was able to directly apply what she learned to her job. 

“Understanding the basic principles on physiology of human senses and the subtle differences between varied types of sensory tests helped me design these tests more efficiently, while the statistics portion helped me strengthen my skills on analyses and interpretation of data from these tests,” Taruna explained. “I have begun to successfully apply my learnings from the course in my day-to-day job with greater confidence.”

Taruna was particularly impressed with the quality of the instructors. Their wealth of knowledge and insight, along with their detailed feedback and approachability, enhanced her learning experience. 

“Interacting with some of the pioneers in this field was most valuable,” she said. “They showed genuine commitment to ensuring the growth of their students. With their help and guidance, I feel well-equipped to handle consumer science in my organization.”

Taruna said she would recommend the program both to newcomers and those with some experience in consumer science. 

“This program has given me the much-required self-confidence to pursue a successful career in this field,” she said. “Professionally, I feel my capabilities as a consumer scientist are now seen as something gained, not just out of experience, but with a solid academic foundation as well.”

Where Is She Now?

Updated July 2026

Today, Taruna has transitioned to a new role with Nestlé. She is now a senior product experience specialist with Nestlé in the United Kingdom where she leads global studies focused on understanding consumer behavior and expectations to help design products that are relevant, meaningful and scalable.

She continues to use the skills she learned about staying true to statistics and data in her current work and anticipates going back to what she learned in the program for a refresher in methodologies and statistics.

Looking back, she said the Applied Sensory and Consumer Science Certificate Program gave her the confidence she needed when she entered the field and helped her advance within it. 

“I could handle challenges better,” she said. “And with this functional expertise I could take up roles in another organization.”