Paying more makes food taste better

Despite what Australia’s love affair with cut-price food might suggest, consumers value food that is more expensive. Researchers have found that taste perception - as well as feelings of overeating and guilt - can be manipulated by price alone.

“We were fascinated to find that pricing has little impact on how much one eats, but a huge impact on how you interpret the experience,” said Brian Wansink, PhD, a professor at the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University who oversaw the research.

“Simply cutting the price of food at a restaurant dramatically affects how customers evaluate and appreciate the food.”

To test this, the researchers presented 139 diners with an all-you-can-eat buffet priced at $4 or $8. Customers were asked to evaluate the food and restaurant, rating their first, middle and last taste of the food on a nine-point scale.

Those who paid $8 reported enjoying their food on average 11% more than those who paid $4 - even though both groups ate the same amount of food overall. Those who paid less for their food more often reported feeling like they had overeaten, felt more guilt about the meal and reported liking the food less and less throughout the course of the meal.

“We were surprised by the striking pattern we saw,” said Ozge Sigirci, a researcher at Cornell University Food and Brand Lab who conducted the study. “If the food is there, you are going to eat it, but the pricing very much affects how you are going to feel about your meal and how you will evaluate the restaurant.”

“If you’re a consumer and want to eat at a buffet, the best thing to do is eat at the most expensive buffet you can afford. You won’t eat more, but you’ll have a better experience overall,” said Wansink.

Wansink and his colleagues have conducted a range of other studies that show how health behaviours can be manipulated by small changes, such as putting the most healthful foods first in a display or using a smaller plate.

“This is an example of how a really small change can transform how a person interacts with food in a way that doesn’t entail dieting,” said Wansink.

Sigirci presented the findings at the Experimental Biology 2014 meeting on 29 April at the San Diego Convention Center