Mauricio Castro, Management Consultant in Bluffton, SC, United States
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Mauricio Castro

Management Consulting Expert

Bluffton, SC, United States

Toptal member since June 1, 2026

Bio

Mauricio is a sensory and consumer behavior scientist with over 20 years of experience in product experience, sensory analysis, and consumer insights. His expertise spans human perception and UX research, with notable work at Johnson & Johnson, Nike, Nestle, and DuPont. Mauricio led consumer research strategies for brands like Tylenol and Zyrtec, driving innovation through validated consumer insights.

Career Highlights

Principal Scientist – Consumer Science, Self-care, and R&D
Johnson & Johnson/Kenvue
Senior Perception Researcher
NIKE
Senior Sensory Scientist
NESTLE (CPW - Cereal Partners Worldwide, General Mills)

Education Highlights

PhD
Kansas State University
Master's Degree
Texas Woman's University
Bachelor's Degree
Catholic University of Santa María

Expertise

  • Applied Statistics
  • Consumer Insights
  • Descriptive Analysis
  • Innovation
  • Qualitative Research
  • Quantitative Research
  • R&D
  • Sensory Software

Work Experience

Principal Scientist – Consumer Science, Self-care, and R&D

2022 - PRESENT
Johnson & Johnson/Kenvue
  • Created and led the consumer research strategy for the R&D team in support of multiple brands such as Tylenol, Benadryl, and Zyrtec.
  • Coordinated research to identify and validate consumer insights for upstream innovation to guide the different cross-functional teams.
  • Spearheaded UX research using quantitative and qualitative methodologies, including benchmarking, surveys, interviews, and focus groups, to drive user-centered design solutions.
Focus areas: Consumer Insights, Innovation, Product Packaging, Front-end Development

Senior Perception Researcher

2021 - 2022
NIKE
  • Contributed to developing, executing, and applying the research vision, direction, and agenda for functional groups within the Nike Sport Research Lab (NSRL) to drive performance innovation across functional teams.
  • Participated in developing new tools and methods, utilizing sophisticated research skills and knowledge and experience of the consumer, as well as performance requirements, resulting in product and performance innovation.
  • Used qualitative and quantitative methodologies, including ethnographies, focus groups, interviews, CLT, and HUT, to provide insights that led to successful decisions in the innovation cycle.
Focus areas: Ethnography, Perception Science, Eyequestion, Qualtrics, Quantitative Research, Qualitative Research

Senior Sensory Scientist

2019 - 2021
NESTLE (CPW - Cereal Partners Worldwide, General Mills)
  • Influenced and provided leadership as the product design subject-matter expert on the cross-functional business team.
  • Directed technically complex projects through appropriate product and packaging, consumer, and sensory learning plans to protect product quality and enhance consumer understanding.
  • Translated data into insights through the synthesis of qualitative consumer learning and the interpretation of statistical analyses of quantitative testing.
Focus areas: Food, Cereals

Sensory Scientist

2018 - 2019
DuPont – Nutrition & Health
  • Consulted, designed, and managed appropriate descriptive, discrimination, and consumer guidance tests to enhance product knowledge to meet business goals.
  • Provided sensory guidance for flavor enhancers projects and drivers of liking of new plant-based products.
  • Participated in descriptive panel training and company-wide sensory training as needed.
  • Performed statistical analysis across all the sensory studies and for research purposes.
Focus areas: Descriptive Analysis, Sensory Science

Consumer Sensory Insights Intern

2018 - 2018
Nestle – Gerber R&D
  • Executed qualitative research utilizing focus groups and exit interviews.
  • Developed key sensory attributes for packaging and innovation materials.
  • Applied regression and multivariate statistical analysis for different projects.
  • Conducted consumer packaged goods (CPG) sensory research for other Nestlé development centers like Häagen-Dazs, Nestlé Waters, and Nestlé Health Science.
Focus areas: Infant and Toddlers products

Graduate Research Assistant, Sensory Analysis Center

2017 - 2017
Kansas State University
  • Worked on both consumer and descriptive sensory projects for some of the largest international companies.
  • Coordinated and served as sensory leader of the protein-enriched products for the PepsiCo project in conjunction with the product development class.
  • Assisted and worked on non-food descriptive analysis projects, like pet foods, as well as consumer studies.
  • Performed data analysis using SAS, R, Qualtrics, RedJade, XLSTAT, and Minitab.
Focus areas: SAS, R, Qualtrics, Minitab

Senior Food Technologist

2012 - 2017
Mission Foods
  • Established and maintained effective partnerships within the R&D division to create new retail and foodservice.
  • Developed new flavors for both flour and corn tortillas for private label customers.
  • Championed and promoted the value of the creation of a new sensory analysis and consumer research team within R&D.
Focus areas: R&D

Education

2015 - 2019

PhD in Sensory Analysis and Consumer Behavior

Kansas State University - Manhattan, KS, USA

2006 - 2010

Master's Degree in Food Science

Texas Woman's University - Denton, TX, USA

1993 - 1997

Bachelor's Degree in Food Engineering

Catholic University of Santa María - Arequipa, Peru

Skills

Data & Analysis Software

R, SAS

Industry Expertise

Food

Other

Applied Statistics, Sensory Software, Qualitative Research, Quantitative Research, Descriptive Analysis, Consumer Insights, Food Science, Innovation, Food Manufacturing, R&D, Qualtrics, Product Packaging, Front-end Development, Ethnography, Minitab, Suzy, aytm, Redjade, Process Flows, Quality Control (QC), Pilot Plant, Perception Science, Eyequestion, Food Chemistry, Cereals, Sensory Science, Infant and Toddlers products

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