This study investigates consumers’ preferences and willingness to pay (WTP) for protected designation of origin certifications. First, the paper proposes the use of a new index in food studies to measure WTP. We focus on dry‐cured ham in Italy. Our results add a geographical dimension to studies of consumer preferences by providing evidence of the existence of differences based on place of residence. Consumers who live in the same area where certified ham is produced are willing to pay a lower premium price than consumers living farther away are willing to pay: the closer consumers live to the area of production of the certified product, the less they refer to extrinsic certification cues [EconLit citations: Q11; D12; C35].