THE ROLE OF EMOTIONAL RESPONSES, FOOD NEOPHOBIA, AND SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS IN CONSUMERS’ WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR INSECT-BASED BEER: EVIDENCE FROM A FACE-READER EXPERIMENT_Dataset

The study investigates consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for beer containing insect flour and tests four hypotheses: (H1) insect flour reduces WTP compared with conventional beer attributes; (H2) discrete emotional responses elicited by insect flour differentially affect WTP; (H3) higher food neophobia is associated with lower WTP for insect-based beer; and (H4) sociodemographic characteristics influence WTP. Data were collected between November 2024 and March 2025 from 389 adults in Czechia using a two-stage online experiment. First, participants viewed an image of insect-based beer for 15 seconds while their facial expressions were recorded via webcam and analysed using FaceReader 9. The software generated probability scores (0–1) for happiness, sadness, anger, fear, disgust, surprise and neutrality. Second, participants completed a questionnaire containing a ranking-based conjoint experiment, food-neophobia scale and sociodemographic measures. Respondents ranked nine beer profiles varying in price (€1.70, €3.60 or €5.50/500 ml), production type (industrial/craft), colour (light/blonde/dark) and presence or absence of insect flour. Rank-ordered logistic models estimated attribute utilities and WTP. The results support H1: insect flour produced the strongest negative valuation among product attributes, corresponding to a WTP of −€5.72, indicating substantial consumer resistance. Dark beer also reduced WTP (−€2.58), while craft production and blonde colour had no significant effects. H2 was also supported, although emotional effects did not follow a simple positive-versus-negative pattern. Neutrality and happiness were negatively associated with WTP for insect flour, whereas surprise had a significant positive effect and partially offset the negative valuation. Anger, disgust, sadness and fear were not significant. Notably, rejection was not primarily explained by disgust; novelty-related engagement reflected by surprise may instead facilitate acceptance. H3 was supported: food neophobia significantly reduced the utility of insect flour, confirming unfamiliarity with novel foods as an important psychological barrier. H4 received only partial support. Education was significantly and negatively associated with WTP, whereas age, gender, income and residence showed no significant effects. The data indicate that acceptance of insect-based beer is shaped more by novelty aversion, psychological predispositions and specific affective responses than by sociodemographic segmentation. The findings can inform product development, pricing and communication strategies, particularly approaches that increase familiarity and stimulate curiosity. However, FaceReader outputs represent probabilities of facial expressions rather than subjective emotions, and the relationships should be interpreted as associations rather than causal effects. The Czech convenience sample and stated-preference design also limit generalisability and may introduce hypothetical bias.