Healthy lifestyles and sustainability premium: economic valuation of ESG attributes in beer production

Purpose This study aims to assess whether sustainability attributes in beer – packaging and ethical production – generate measurable monetary value for consumers, and examines how healthy lifestyle patterns (health orientation and sports participation) moderate willingness to pay (WTP). The goal is to provide evidence relevant for ESG investment decisions in agri-food value chains. Design/methodology/approach A Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE) with eight choice sets (two alternatives plus a no-purchase option) was conducted using data from 1,046 Spanish consumers. A Mixed Logit (RPL) model was estimated to capture both observed lifestyle-based heterogeneity and unobserved random preference variation. Attribute-specific WTP values were then derived from the RPL estimates. Findings Results reveal strong market segmentation. Social attributes show negative mean WTP – Fair Trade (−€0.91) and Community Support (−€0.95) – but with large and significant dispersion (SD ˜ 1.10), indicating coexistence of “ethical” and “skeptical” consumer segments. By contrast, the “Sustainable” claim follows a lifestyle-driven value ladder: WTP increases from +€0.68 in the baseline group to +€2.18 among consumers with both high health orientation and sports participation. Packaging effects are asymmetric: reusable glass receives a clear premium (+€0.35), whereas recyclable glass shows no significant valuation. Practical implications Findings guide firms toward segment-specific ESG strategies and caution against undifferentiated sustainability messaging. Originality/value The study provides novel evidence that sustainability premiums are not uniform but driven by lifestyle-based heterogeneity. ESG investments in beer are more likely to yield market returns when targeted at LOHAS-oriented segments, while social attributes require careful communication due to the risk of skepticism in mainstream consumers.