Imagine slipping on a sleek, lightweight headset and sitting down for dinner. As you take a bite, you experience the rich flavor of a perfectly grilled steak, the succulent juiciness, the charred edges – except, in reality, you’re eating a plant-based substitute or even a nutrient-dense gel. It may sound like something out of science fiction, but it’s becoming a very real possibility.
We are on the cusp of a radical shift in how we experience food, and extended reality (XR) – a fusion of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR)—is leading the charge. This isn’t just about entertainment or gaming; it’s about reshaping our relationship with food, redefining taste itself, and unlocking new possibilities for health, sustainability, and commerce. The question is no longer whether XR will change the way we eat – but how quickly businesses and consumers will embrace it.
Rewriting the rules of taste
If you’ve ever pinched your nose while eating a jellybean and noticed the flavor all but disappeared, you already understand the power of sensory perception. Our brains don’t just taste food – they interpret it through a mix of sight, smell, texture, and even sound. What XR does is hack this process, creating completely new taste experiences by manipulating our senses.
Take the “vocktail” (virtual cocktail). This isn’t just a drink – it’s an experience enhanced by scent cartridges, LED lighting, and tiny electrical impulses that can make water taste like a mojito or a piña colada. Or consider the digital lollipop, developed by researchers at the National University of Singapore, which uses electrical currents to stimulate the tongue, simulating sweetness, sourness, and even spiciness – without any actual sugar or spice.
Then there’s the electric salt spoon, pioneered by Japanese beverage giant Kirin, which amplifies the perception of saltiness without adding sodium. Given that 1.3 billion people worldwide suffer from hypertension, technology like this isn’t just innovative – it’s a game changer for public health. High-end restaurants are already experimenting with VR-enhanced dining, blending digital visuals, scents, and sounds to elevate the way we perceive flavors.
Beyond gimmicks: The business potential of XR food
This isn’t just an academic exercise or a sci-fi experiment – it’s a market opportunity with immense commercial potential. Businesses across multiple industries need to be paying attention. Here’s why:
1. Health and wellness: The future of nutrition
What if indulgent flavors didn’t have to come with calories? What if people could experience the richness of sugar without actual sugar? XR could make this a reality. Everest Group’s research suggests XR-enhanced food could revolutionize dietary management, allowing people with diabetes or hypertension to enjoy the perception of sweetness or saltiness without consuming sugar or sodium.
Imagine a future where, instead of restrictive diets, patients simply use digital utensils to adjust their perception of food. The implications for nutrition, weight management, and even personalized medicine are profound.
2. Sustainable eating: Making plant-based irresistible
One of the biggest hurdles to widespread adoption of plant-based and lab-grown meat isn’t price or availability – it’s taste. But what if we could bypass this psychological barrier?
Researchers at Tokyo University’s “Metacookie” experiment found that VR headsets combined with scent diffusers could trick users into believing a plain cookie was chocolate or lemon. Apply that concept to meat alternatives, and suddenly, a plant-based protein could taste indistinguishable from a Wagyu steak. This could be the breakthrough that finally drives mass adoption of sustainable food sources.
3. The collision of gaming, E-Commerce, and food
Gaming and virtual worlds already incorporate food as a core part of their experiences – characters eat in games, but what if players could actually taste it? XR opens the door to immersive, taste-based gaming where eating becomes a digital-physical hybrid experience.
Beyond entertainment, imagine how food brands could leverage this technology. Restaurants could offer virtual tastings before customers make reservations. Food delivery platforms could let customers “preview” the flavors of a dish before ordering. Even grocery shopping could transform – shoppers could try digital samples before purchasing, all from the comfort of their homes.
From novelty to necessity: What’s next?
It’s easy to dismiss these innovations as futuristic stunts. But we’ve seen this story before. A decade ago, the idea of using facial recognition to pay for coffee or attending a business meeting in the metaverse seemed implausible. Today, both are a reality.
I predict that within the next five years, we’ll see XR-driven food devices enter the mainstream health and wellness markets. The electric salt spoon is just the beginning – soon, we could have digital “sweet spoons” or programmable taste diffusers for water bottles, allowing users to choose their preferred flavor profile on demand.
In the longer term, as VR and brain-computer interfaces evolve, we may reach a point where we can simulate an entire meal without consuming any physical food at all. This could be transformative not just for entertainment, but for space travel, disaster relief, and even global food security.
The bottom line: Businesses must prepare now
The intersection of XR, AI, and food science isn’t just an interesting experiment – it’s a fundamental shift in how we experience eating. For businesses, this presents both an opportunity and a challenge. Companies in the food, health, gaming, and entertainment industries must start thinking now about how they will integrate XR into their strategies.
We’re moving toward a world where digital technology doesn’t just enhance food – it redefines it. The most important question isn’t if this change will happen, but how soon.