Local Purchasing Preferences of Craft Breweries Customers: A Northern Kentucky Case Study

Many of the craft breweries in Kentucky are actively involved in the local community and are concerned with the health and growth of the community that they are a part of. Some of the local breweries even enhance the community and the spaces directly around the brewery while they are growing and contributing to the local economy. Understanding community attachment and local buying preferences gives the breweries and the community an idea of what locals want and motivations to purchase locally. Results suggests that regardless of whether or not the respondents purchase local products they support the idea of local purchasing and the idea of supporting the local farmers and community. The survey results have already shown that the majority of the respondents have a strong community attachment and are in the favor of the supporting locally, however there are barriers that are keeping these individuals from actually supporting their community by purchasing local goods. The two largest barriers are directly related to money through being cost conscious and considering the price point of local foods compared to national brands. The two secondary barriers to purchasing local involve the selection offered by local distributors compared to non-local options. With this information the local producers and distributors have a better understanding of what they can do to encourage more members of the community to purchase local foods and become more proactive in the support of their community