The expectancy effect describes how believing a substance or ritual will produce an effect can itself produce a measurable psychological and physiological response, independent of the direct pharmacological action.
This is particularly relevant to traditional aphrodisiacs, where documented chemical effects — from chili peppers, chocolate, or specific herbs — are often modest at typical consumption levels, while the psychological priming from ritual and anticipation is comparatively significant.
This doesn't make the category meaningless; expectancy effects are a legitimate, well-documented psychological mechanism. It does mean the value is often in the ritual and context as much as the substance itself.
Clinically, addressing an actual cause of low desire — stress, sleep, medication, relationship dynamics — remains more impactful than any single food or ritual, though the two approaches aren't mutually exclusive.
For readers interested in this kind of shared ritual, https://inwonderstate.com/products/arousal-chocolates-aphrodisiac is one option built around it.