I am a huge advocate for sensory play, but when the advertising world takes charge and uses it to sell more, um, well, beans, then I wonder if we aren’t going in the wrong direction. Why not just play with dried beans or experience a musical instrument, turn on some music and dance around?

Nope, not Heinz, look what they launched in the UK. (this is taken from Springwise)

“Tactile bowls and musical spoon provide complete sensory food experience

The Heinz Beanz Flavour Experience pairs five different flavors with matching bowls and a musical spoon for a synaesthetic effect.

Our relationship with food is often related to other senses beyond taste, something that London’s Edible Cinema picked up on with its movie-synchronized menu. Now another UK project has created the Heinz Beanz Flavour Experience, which pairs five different varieties of the food with matching bowls and a musical spoon for a synaesthetic effect.

The brainchild of food experience agency Bompas & Parr, the campaign was designed to launch five new flavors of the popular household product – Garlic & Herb, Cheddar Cheese, Fiery Chilli, Barbecue and Curry. For each flavor, a bowl with characteristics that matched the taste was created to enhance the experience for diners. For example, the Garlic & Herb version was matched with a bulbous bowl that is scratchy to the touch, while the Fiery Chilli has a spiky bowl. The group also made a spoon that when placed inside the mouth, sends sound vibrations through the jaw, allowing the eater to hear relevant noises and music. For example, the barbecue flavour spoon produces blues music combined with sizzling sounds.

The campaign combines visual, tactile and aural senses and adds them to the taste and smell of the food to create a complete sensory experience. Although designed to promote the Heinz Beanz brand, it’s easy to see how this idea could be developed into a business in itself – perhaps as a new product, restaurant or event? Plenty of inspiration here.”

http://www.springwise.com/tactile-bowls-musical-spoon-enhance-flavor/