Virtual reality environments on the sensory acceptability and emotional responses of no- and full-sugar chocolate

Eating is a multimodal sensory experience affected contextual situations. A limitation with traditional consumer testing that isolated booth environments lack ecological validity and consumer's engagement in forming perceptions. Virtual reality (VR) an emerging method to simulate different environmental contexts. The acceptability emotional responses of full- no-sugar chocolate determined booths under two VR (headsets) were evaluated. Untrained participants (N = 50) tasted chocolates (FS full-sugar NS no-sugar, maltitol) three environments: (1) traditional-booths, (2) positive-VR [aesthetically open-field forest], (3) negative-VR [closed-space old room] 3 × 2 randomized-factorial-design. Participants rated the sweetness, bitterness, texture, mouth-coating, aftertaste, overall liking (9-point scale). intensities hardness (15-cm line-scale) assessed. Chocolate type did not affect attributes (5.4–6.8). However, FS samples had higher sweetness intensity than for (10.8 vs. 9.1). associated liking. “energetic” “happy”; however, related “good”, “calm”. “Bored” “guilty” negative-VR. can be used understand effects on consumers'