Beyond the Plate: How AR & VR Serve Up Immersive Food Journeys

Let’s be real: Augmented reality and virtual reality aren’t pie in the sky; they’re top of mind for food and beverage professionals hungry to enhance the customer experience and operational efficiencies.

From boosting consumer engagement with interactive menu displays and virtual food-tasting experiences to optimizing inventory management and staff training with immersive simulations, AR and VR have whetted the industry’s appetite for possibilities far beyond the plate.

Across industries, the rapid evolution of AR and VR from futuristic concepts to accessible technologies has triggered global market growth. Estimated at $37 billion in 2022, the AR and VR market is projected to surge to $114.5 billion by 2027 at a compound annual growth rate of 25%.¹

A Taste of Tomorrow, Today

These technologies continue to tempt us with tastes of the future — literally, in fact, with the emergence of the “e-Taste” device, which simulates taste sensations.

Developed by researchers at Ohio State University, the device uses a combination of sensors and wireless chemical dispensers to create virtual taste experiences, opening up new possibilities for taste testing, food sampling and menu innovation.

By digitally recreating the five basic tastes — sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami — the device can help bridge the gap between digital and physical dining and enable consumers to “taste” foods like cake, coffee and fish soup remotely.

But e-Taste is hardly the only AR and VR tool unlocking unprecedented opportunities for the food and beverage business. Virtual TasteTrek® Citrus provides a virtual food experience that combines the sight, smell and taste of citrus through a VR set.

Givaudan, a Swiss manufacturer of custom flavors and fragrances, uses the technology to virtually transport clients to its citrus groves at the University of California Riverside. The Oculus Go headsets provide an immersive experience to help the clients develop new citrus scents and flavors from Givaudan’s collection of more than 1,000 varieties of citrus — without having to physically travel to the groves.

Multisensory on the Menu

Major brands like Nestlé and Starbucks are also savoring the sweet sensory possibilities of VR and AR integrations.

• Nestlé’s “Taste the Mood” VR app took users on a trek across scenic virtual landscapes that tie into Nestlé products, enhancing the consumer’s enjoyment of eating the items and creating a connection between the virtual experience and real product consumption.
• Starbucks engages consumers and educates them about its sustainability practices and ethical sourcing with VR tours of its coffee farms, enabling them to follow the journey from bean to cup.
• Heineken has used VR to allow consumers to virtually visit the company’s breweries, witness its beer-making process, and bring the brand’s heritage to life.
• McDonald’s gave young customers in Sweden another reason to say “I’m lovin’ it” with limited-edition Happy Meal boxes that converted into Happy Goggles inspired by the Google Cardboard VR viewer into which a smartphone was inserted. Available through a smartphone link, Happy Goggles immersed users in a ski-themed game that engaged kids and their parents.

Digging in Across Industries

Brands across industries leverage AR and VR to generate memorable and shareable content for a wide range of target audiences.

Adidas promoted its TERREX line of outdoor gear with a VR adventure that simulated climbing the Delicatessen summit in Punta du Corba, Corsica. The VR headsets gave users a thrilling climber’s point of view of the ascent while educating them about rock climbing best practices. Available at various roadshows and festivals around the world, the VR experience also showcased the ruggedness of TERREK gear, making the connection between adventure and the Adidas brand.

“VR and AR integrations have loads of viral appeal, if only because they exponentially expand the range of possibilities for content creation and sharing,” said Hays Formella, director of social media for The Food Group.

Hays cited the social media campaign for IKEA’s “Place” app as a case in point. The campaign encouraged consumers to download the app, which enabled them to visualize IKEA furniture in their homes and experiment with virtual furniture placements. The campaign generated 994,048 views on YouTube alone.⁴

Limitless Potential, Limited Budgets

The sky may be the limit when it comes to the creative possibilities of AR and VR, but the cost of implementing these sorts of programs can be limiting for small and midsized businesses.

But given how AR experiences increase engagement rates by 35-40%, brand recall by 70% and social sharing by 300%,⁵ return on investment certainly can be robust — and cost-efficiencies are likely to improve as the technologies continue to evolve.

“While cost can be a factor, there’s no question that as these technologies advance, they’ll become increasingly accessible,” said Megan Keleshian, vice president of digital marketing for The Food Group. “And it’s up to us as marketers to mine its possibilities for the greatest ROI.”

To learn how our parent company WPP is harnessing technology to take business to new heights of success, visit our corporate site.

1 IdeaUsher, “How AR VR Can Enhance Restaurant Business?” 2023

2 Statista, AR & VR - Worldwide, 2024

3 Statista, AR/VR headset shipments worldwide 2023

4 Dot IT, “Improve Your Next Social Media Campaign with AR and VR!”, December 2, 2024

5 Mattan, Moody, “The Business Case for Augmented Reality Advertising in 2025,” Brand XR, May 25, 2025