Introduction to Expo 2020
It’s one other busy day at Expo 2020 within the bustling Middle Eastern metropolis of Dubai. Many in the gang are having fun with the nice and cozy Arabian winter weather. But one group of holiday makers can’t wait to get out of the sunshine. They need to enter a dark enchanted forest that’s almost half a world away and explore it, virtually. They’ve come to the Expo’s New Zealand pavilion for an augmented reality show that guarantees to set a brand new standard in consumer food marketing and education.
The Experience
The experience plays upon their senses of sight and sound to assist them discover and understand the complexity of tastes of Mānuka, a kind of pure native forest honey that is well known across the globe for its health advantages, organic goodness and sustainable origins. New Zealand company and a worldwide leader in Mānuka honey, Comvita has come to Dubai to win over recent customers.
The Magic Begins
The experience starts like this. Each audience member sits in front of a tray with two samples of honey, a tasting spoon and a palate-cleansing glass of sparkling water. They each placed on a HoloLens 2 headset because the lights go down and the magic begins. Suddenly, a life-size beehive hanging from a native New Zealand punga tree appears from out of the darkness. A 3D virtual beekeeper arrives and guides them through a lush primeval setting. A swarm of bees buzzes across the room, looking for indigenous Mānuka shrubs with tiny delicate pink and white flowers stuffed with nectar.
Tasting the Honey
Now it’s time to begin tasting. The natural accents of every honey’s taste profile float across the guests to assist them discover the flavors they will sense — apricot, toffee, marshmallow and others. To add a little bit extra wonder, HoloLens makes the tasting spoon leave a trace of sparkles within the air when it’s dipped right into a honey pot – similar to a magic wand. The Comvita HoloLens show was put together by New Zealand design agency, Blur the Lines.
Creating an Emotional Experience
Its founder and artistic director, Danielle Barclay says the agency has created “an emotional experience” that connects a participant’s mind with their taste buds. Two years ago, Comvita and Blur the Lines built a multi-sensory honey-tasting center, called a “Wellness Lab,” in New Zealand’s most populous city, Auckland. “That space was designed to emulate the purity of the product – all white textures to permit the honey to shine, with an undulating acoustic ceiling. We had to include three projectors, surround sound speakers, radiant heaters, sprinklers, air-conditioning and lighting,” Barclay says. This immersive experience became successful with tourists and locals. But when Comvita decided to go on the road to Dubai, the team opted for a virtual approach using HoloLens.
Conclusion
The Comvita HoloLens show at Expo 2020 is a novel and immersive experience that enables visitors to explore the world of Mānuka honey in a virtual environment. By combining augmented reality with sensory experiences, Comvita and Blur the Lines have created an emotional connection between the participants and the product. This progressive approach to consumer food marketing and education is bound to go away a long-lasting impression on visitors and set a brand new standard within the industry. As the world becomes increasingly digital, experiences like it will grow to be more common, and it is going to be exciting to see how corporations like Comvita proceed to push the boundaries of innovation and creativity.
