Price and taste are key drivers of consumers’ evaluation of (novel) foods. In behavioral economics, experimental auctions became a popular method to elicit consumers’ willingness-to-pay (WTP), i.e. the amount someone is willing to pay for products, through simulating a market environment, where consumers make real choices, using real money. Moreover, through integrating sensory evaluation, experimental auctions can examine the crucial role of tasting on consumers’ WTP. However, as contextual factors influence WTP and sensory acceptance, this method is criticized for its ecological validity. Virtual Reality offers a novel, but still unexplored way to examine consumers in more natural consumption settings but still within a more controlled approach. Through synergetic collaboration in the fields of behavioral economics, sensory food sciences and computer science, this project aims to integrate and validate VR technology in experimental auctions, and examine its role to better understand consumer preferences for insect-based foods. The latter are increasingly advocated to contribute to environmental sustainability, but consumer research on sensory evaluation and WTP is still limited. For the first time, VR technology will be introduced in experimental auctions to determine its potential role to mimic and evaluate real life contexts, while evaluating consumer preferences for a highly relevant food products.