Willingness to pay for health claims on Italian extra virgin olive oil: the asymmetric roles of subjective and objective knowledge

Although health claims on food labels are increasingly used as instruments to orient consumers toward healthier choices, evidence on their economic valuation remains limited, particularly in traditional food markets. This study investigates the determinants of Italian consumers' willingness to pay a premium price for extra virgin olive oil carrying health claims, with particular attention to the distinct roles of subjective and objective knowledge. Data from a nationally representative survey of 1016 Italian consumers were analyzed using a Tobit model to account for the censored distribution of willingness to pay. The findings reveal that the average stated WTP premium is €1.31. Health-related attitudes and consumer knowledge are the primary drivers of willingness to pay, while sociodemographic characteristics play a negligible role. Subjective knowledge exerts a strong positive and linear effect, whereas objective knowledge shows a positive diminishing marginal impact, suggesting, albeit tentatively, saturation effects at higher knowledge levels. Notably, the two knowledge dimensions interact differently with sensory motivations: among highly knowledgeable consumers, prioritizing flavor is associated with a higher premium, whereas among those with higher subjective knowledge the opposite holds, indicating that hedonic and health-driven motivations can either reinforce or substitute for one another depending on the type of knowledge involved. Price orientation and, counterintuitively, attention to label information are negatively associated with willingness to pay. These results contribute to the literature on consumer valuation of credence attributes in functional foods and carry direct implications for producers and policymakers seeking to leverage health claims as tools for both market differentiation and the promotion of healthier dietary patterns.