Researchers at HSE University–Perm used electroencephalography (EEG) to examine how sugar cravings and health consciousness influence consumers’ evaluations of Cola-flavoured beverages. Their findings suggest that people who place greater importance on healthy eating experience more cognitive effort when deciding how much they are willing to pay for a drink and ultimately choose to spend less. The study was published in the British Food Journal.

Consumers often face a trade-off between enjoying the taste of indulgent foods and considering their health value. This dilemma is particularly relevant for sugary drinks, which are typically chosen for pleasure rather than nutrition. The researchers investigated how this internal conflict affects consumers’ willingness to pay, defined as the maximum amount they would spend on a product.

The study involved 40 adults aged 18 to 59. Participants first completed questionnaires measuring their cravings for sweets and their attitudes toward healthy eating. They then tasted six Cola-flavoured beverages and rated each drink’s taste while indicating the highest price they would be willing to pay for a 330-millilitre can. No actual purchases were made.

The tasting consisted of two stages. In the first, participants sampled the beverages unthinkingly from identical clear glasses without knowing the brand. In the second, the packaging was revealed, allowing participants to see the brand name and sugar content. Throughout both stages, researchers monitored brain activity using EEG to understand the decision-making process better.

People with stronger cravings for sweets were willing to pay more for the beverages during the blind tasting, even though they did not rate the drinks as tasting better than other participants. Once the packaging and product information were revealed, however, these participants gave higher taste ratings and remained willing to pay more. The researchers suggest that familiar branding strengthened expectations of enjoyment, increasing the drinks’ perceived value.

Health-conscious participants showed a different pattern. During the blind tasting, EEG recordings revealed greater beta-wave activity in the prefrontal cortex when they decided how much they were willing to pay, indicating greater cognitive effort. This increased mental processing was associated with lower willingness to pay. Interestingly, the relationship disappeared once the product packaging and nutritional information were visible.

The study also found that demographic factors influenced purchasing decisions. Younger participants and women were generally willing to pay more for the beverages, while people with higher incomes were prepared to spend more during the branded tasting. Education level, regular consumption of Cola-flavoured drinks and the drinks’ sugar content did not significantly affect willingness to pay.

According to study co-author Daria Semyonova, the findings indicate that the conflict between taste and health emerges not while tasting the beverage but when consumers decide how much it is worth. In that decision-making process, cravings for sweets appear to outweigh health concerns, particularly when familiar brands reinforce expectations of pleasure.

More information: Daria Semenova et al, The taste–health dilemma in hedonic food consumption: behavioral attitudes, neural responses and willingness to pay for cola-flavored drinks, British Food Journal. DOI: 10.1108/BFJ-11-2025-1589

Journal information: British Food Journal Provided by National Research University Higher School of Economics