Malt Preferences of the Craft Brewing Industry - Agricultural ...

In the “Growth” and “Mature” stages of the cycle, businesses experience slowingdemand growth (e.g., increasing at a decreasing rate), more head-to-head competition,and excess capacity as an industry. Further, the emphasis on cost and service becomemore important and there is a shake-out of the weaker firms in the industry.During the “Declining” stage of the industry growth cycle, firms observe demandslower than the economy wide average. They also experience limited profit potential andfierce rivalry among firms in the industry.Respondents indicated the location of their business and the industry as a whole inthe industry growth cycle (Table 27). Those choosing the emerging stage were generallynew businesses. Similar to the placement for individual businesses, the largest portion ofrespondents indicated they perceived the craft brewing industry in the growth phase ofthe cycle (Table 28). A higher frequency of responses indicated the industry fell in themature phase of growth suggesting the industry was approaching its peak.Table 27. Stage of Industry Growth for YOUR BUSINESSStage ofGrowthCycleType of Brewery Category% of SampleFull Sample Craft Brew Regional MicrobreweriesBrewpubsBrewersEmerging 15.5% 16.3% 8.3% 25.7% 12.8%Growth 53.8% 56.3% 52.8% 60.2% 54.0%Mature 23.7% 23.8% 30.6% 11.5% 29.9%Declining 1.8% 0.9% 2.8% 0.9% 0.5%33