Congruency of an eating environment influences product liking: A virtual reality study

Abstract

Virtual reality (VR) has been introduced as a method to improve the ecological validity of sensory tests by mimicking natural consumption contexts. VR has the advantage of being a cost-effective method that allows for sensory tests to be conducted in a more controlled and standardized environment, compared to tests performed in a natural consumption context (e.g., at home, in a restaurant, etc.). While some research with VR has been published, it remains unclear to what extent VR can truly immerse people in the intended context. One possible option to determine the effects of immersion is to investigate VR context–product congruency. As such, the aim of this study is to examine to what extent a congruent eating environment (summer/winter) impacts the perception of food congruent for that eating context. Using a between-subject design, a total of 100 participants evaluated three food products (watermelon, cracker, and chocolate truffle) either in a winter or summer VR context. Results showed that the overall liking of the congruent food (watermelon for summer and chocolate truffle for winter) was significantly higher than for the other foods when consumed in a congruent VR context. It should also be mentioned that overall, the scores were higher for the summer than the winter context, which requires further research (e.g., with other products/VR contexts). The emotions evoked by the consumed food products did not differ according to the VR context. Furthermore, high engagement scores were reported for the participants during this study, compared to the engagement reported by prior research performed in traditional sensory booths. These results illustrate the potential of VR for application in sensory research as the VR context can immerse and engage participants.