A phygital gastronomic experience by Mobile World Capital Barcelona and the Roca Brothers

• Through a personalized and gamified experience, the user will be able to taste chocolate bonbons in three flavors created on the occasion of the MWC Barcelona 2023 by the Roca Brothers in a scenario that fuses digital and physical reality (phygital).

March 1, 2023

Mobile World Capital Barcelona and the Roca Brothers come together to create a gastronomic journey that breaks down all the barriers we know today. The initiative was presented today at MWC Barcelona 2023 and was attended by Jordi Roca, pastry chef of El Celler de Can Roca, Damian Allsop, Master chocolatier and manager of Casa Cacao chocolate atelier, Francesc Fajula, CEO of Mobile World Capital Barcelona and Eduard Martín, Director of Intelligent Connectivity at Mobile World Capital Barcelona.

The project is part of Feel the Technology, a MWCapital initiative allowing the use of the five human senses to explore a phygital Barcelona. By blending the physical and digital worlds, five experiences have been created, one per sense. Users are able to enjoy a unique experience to reflect on the impact of technology in the way we communicate, interact and perceive reality.

Taste and smell are deeply intertwined and, through the experience of smell, an individualized tailored tasting experience will be designed. Congressmen and women will enjoy the experience through an avatar and an aromatic map based on the interests identified during the olfactory route. The digital flavor experience led by the Roca brothers will be based on these aromatic preferences. Hence, each visitor will be assigned the flavored chocolate bonbon that best suits his profile for the tasting. The latter marks the start of a digital journey with Virtual Reality Quest PRO glasses that combines AR and VR. The experience will be led by the master chocolatier of Celler de Can Roca, Damian Allsop.

The chocolate bonbon will feature three flavours – sweet (caramel ganache), acid (lime ganache and passion fruit) and spicy (red pepper and chili) – created for the occasion by the Roca Brothers and Casa Cacao in a setting where digital and physical (phygital) reality converges. In total, 2,000 chocolates will be produced for this experience.

“New technologies allow us to enjoy an experience that goes beyond our own taste. Travelling through the flavours created by the best chefs in the world, the Roca Brothers, is now a reality. The experience presented today shows what to expect from gastronomy in the future, and how we can evolve towards the internet of the senses”, said Francesc Fajula, CEO of Mobile World Capital Barcelona.

Jordi Roca adds: “Technology allows us to play in a new field in gastronomy. With virtual reality we can enrich the experience of tasting bonbons. All this while we are on a sensory journey halfway between the real and virtual worlds. It’s amazing!”

Damian Alsop explained that “Through the Virtual Reality glasses, all the parts of the bonbons that we have created especially for the occasion are accentuated. It is not only a journey of taste, but also a visual one, which helps the user to capture all the flavour notes that a bonbon can offer, whether it is sweet, acidic or spicy”.

ABOUT MOBILE WORLD CAPITAL BARCELONA

With the support of the public and private sector, MWCapital focuses on four areas: the acceleration of innovation through digital entrepreneurship, the transformation of industries through digital technology, the rise of digital talent among new generations and professionals, and the reflection on the impact of technology in our society.

We promote the development of the mobile and digital ecosystem to position Barcelona as a global digital reference hub. The city hosts Mobile World Congress (MWC) and 4 Years From Now (4YFN), the startup business platform present at MWC events around the world.