The relationship between happiness and consumption of brands and product categories in consumers' perception

Purpose The purpose of this article is to identify whether there is happiness in the consumption of brands and product categories and to clarify which provides more happiness: consuming the product itself or consuming the branded product. Design/methodology/approach The research was a survey with 528 Brazilian consumers. Data were analyzed and interpreted through content analysis and regressions: linear, quantile and logistic. Findings The results show that there is happiness in the consumption of brands and product categories, with culture being the category that most provides happiness; also confirming that individuals who consume branded products are happier than those who consume the product itself. Research limitations/implications Studies confirm that there is happiness in consumption, but when we show that there is more happiness in the consumption of branded products than in not consuming the product itself, and when we identify which are the categories of products that bring the most happiness in an emerging country of Latin America, our article deepens and expands the previous literature. Practical implications We suggest that companies associate their brands with culture to balance profit with sustainable purpose. For this, we provide a framework as a tool for this association. Originality/value The topic of our article is relevant, timely and current, its originality lies in confirming that those who consume the branded product are happier and those who consume the product itself are less happy, and also by identifying which categories provide the most happiness.