Audiovisual Integration Enhances Customer Perception of Artisanal Bread Sounds

Auditory cues are an important, though often overlooked, component of the multisensory experience of food consumption, directly influencing consumer perception and enjoyment. This study investigates how prior food-related experiences affect the perception and preference for food sounds, with a focus on artisanal bread, a popular staple food with distinctive auditory characteristics. A group of 113 participants was recruited and assigned to one of the two groups: 53 attended a bread-making workshop to establish enriched audiovisual associations, while 60 watched bread-making videos online, which represented a comparatively limited form of sensory engagement. Participants rated their perceived comfort levels for three distinct bread-related food sounds before and after the intervention. Sound recognition performance was also assessed as well as the appeal of the sounds. The results revealed that those who attended the workshop evaluated the close-up food sounds significantly more positively than those who watched the videos instead. Furthermore, regression analyses revealed that greater visual involvement during the workshop/watching videos was associated with increased comfort and decreased annoyance for the close-up bread sounds. These findings underscore the importance of multisensory integration experiences, particularly audiovisual integration, in shaping consumer responses and preferences for food sounds. To make sure that consumers feel comfortable and even hungry when they listen to food-related audial content, it is beneficial to incorporate familiar food sounds and, where possible, reinforce these with visual or experiential cues. Content that leverages multisensory associations and aligns with listeners' prior experiences is likely to be more effective in eliciting positive sensory and emotional responses.