Linking Sensory Evaluation to Consumers’ Willingness to Pay a Premium Price: A Comparative Experiment on Artisanal and Industrial Goat Cheese

This study examines consumer preferences for goat cheese by jointly analysing sensory evaluations and willingness to pay more (WTPM) for artisanal and industrial products. Using a comparative experimental design conducted in Sicily (Italy) with 105 regular cheese consumers recruited through convenience sampling in a controlled laboratory setting, the study investigates how differences in farming systems and processing methods—from extensive pasture-based systems to intensive industrial production—affect sensory perception and WTPM. Two ordered logit models with increasing price levels were estimated to identify the determinants of WTPM, one for industrial goat cheese and one for artisanal goat cheese, including sensory evaluations and socio-demographic variables as explanatory factors. A paired t-test was also performed to assess whether sensory evaluations differed significantly between the two cheeses. The results indicate that sensory quality was the main driver of WTPM for artisanal goat cheese, with aroma emerging as the strongest sensory predictor in the exploratory ordered logit model (β = 3.535; p < 0.01). However, the sensory comparison revealed only modest differences between the two cheeses, with taste showing the clearest differentiation in favour of artisanal cheese. Among extrinsic attributes, only PDO certification positively affected WTPM, whereas the negative association observed for biodegradable packaging should be interpreted cautiously as an exploratory finding requiring further investigation. Origin-based signals such as PDO therefore appeared to enhance value alongside, rather than replace, sensory differentiation, acting as complementary rather than substitutive cues. Overall, the findings contribute to the literature on food systems and consumer behaviour by linking sensory perception with production systems and showing how artisanal dairy products can generate consumer value through the combination of sensory characteristics and extrinsic attributes related to origin and production identity.