The taste–health dilemma in hedonic food consumption: behavioral attitudes, neural responses and willingness to pay for cola-flavored drinks

Purpose This study investigates how consumer attitudes, specifically health interest and sweet cravings, affect willingness to pay (WTP) for hedonic products, using cola-flavored drinks as a case. The research explores whether perceived taste and neurophysiological responses mediate this relationship under both blind and informed tasting conditions. Design/methodology/approach An experimental design involving 40 healthy participants was employed, combining electroencephalography recordings and survey data from blind and informed tastings of six cola-flavored drinks. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze direct and indirect relationships between consumer attitudes, perceived taste, neural responses and WTP. Findings The results indicate that WTP for cola-flavored drinks, regardless of the testing condition, is primarily driven by the gratification of hedonic desires, specifically, the pleasure derived from sweetness, which tends to take precedence over health considerations. The study found that both taste perception and sweet cravings have a strong, direct positive effect on WTP. In contrast, health interest showed neither a direct nor a taste-mediated effect on WTP but did exhibit a negative influence through neuro-responses under blind tasting conditions. Additionally, brand awareness was found to alter the mechanisms through which consumer attitudes influence WTP. Originality/value This research is among the first to integrate behavioral attitudes and neurophysiological data to examine the taste–health conflict in hedonic food consumption. It offers a novel perspective, showing that the conflict between hedonic and health motives arises during late-stage cognitive evaluation rather than at the sensory perception level.