Abstract
Food and beverage (FaB) manufacturing represents a promising opportunity for small-scale “makers” and local economic development. The growth of entrepreneurial maker businesses can be understood in terms of segmentation of market demand, emergence of new intermediaries, and availability of affordable production infrastructure. Yet the ease of starting maker businesses stands in contrast with the challenges of achieving growth and scale as a manufacturer. Through semistructured interviews with 31 FaB makers in Chicago, New York City, and Portland, Oregon, the authors analyze the challenges facing maker–entrepreneurs in this sector. The authors find that the everyday character of food and the relative ubiquity of food production infrastructure helps makers get their start, but that the unique character of food inputs and distribution networks pose distinct challenges and opportunities as they grow. Economic development efforts to support FaB makers should focus on nurturing local demand, developing food-oriented intermediaries, and ensuring affordable production space.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 39-50 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | Economic Development Quarterly |
| Volume | 33 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Feb 1 2019 |
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Keywords
- entrepreneurship
- food and beverage manufacturing
- local economic development
- maker movement
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Development
- Economics and Econometrics
- Urban Studies
Cite this
Appetite for Growth : Challenges to Scale for Food and Beverage Makers in Three U.S. Cities. / Schrock, Greg; Doussard, Marc J; Wolf-Powers, Laura; Marotta, Stephen; Eisenburger, Max.
In: Economic Development Quarterly, Vol. 33, No. 1, 01.02.2019, p. 39-50.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Appetite for Growth
T2 - Challenges to Scale for Food and Beverage Makers in Three U.S. Cities
AU - Schrock, Greg
AU - Doussard, Marc J
AU - Wolf-Powers, Laura
AU - Marotta, Stephen
AU - Eisenburger, Max
PY - 2019/2/1
Y1 - 2019/2/1
N2 - Food and beverage (FaB) manufacturing represents a promising opportunity for small-scale “makers” and local economic development. The growth of entrepreneurial maker businesses can be understood in terms of segmentation of market demand, emergence of new intermediaries, and availability of affordable production infrastructure. Yet the ease of starting maker businesses stands in contrast with the challenges of achieving growth and scale as a manufacturer. Through semistructured interviews with 31 FaB makers in Chicago, New York City, and Portland, Oregon, the authors analyze the challenges facing maker–entrepreneurs in this sector. The authors find that the everyday character of food and the relative ubiquity of food production infrastructure helps makers get their start, but that the unique character of food inputs and distribution networks pose distinct challenges and opportunities as they grow. Economic development efforts to support FaB makers should focus on nurturing local demand, developing food-oriented intermediaries, and ensuring affordable production space.
AB - Food and beverage (FaB) manufacturing represents a promising opportunity for small-scale “makers” and local economic development. The growth of entrepreneurial maker businesses can be understood in terms of segmentation of market demand, emergence of new intermediaries, and availability of affordable production infrastructure. Yet the ease of starting maker businesses stands in contrast with the challenges of achieving growth and scale as a manufacturer. Through semistructured interviews with 31 FaB makers in Chicago, New York City, and Portland, Oregon, the authors analyze the challenges facing maker–entrepreneurs in this sector. The authors find that the everyday character of food and the relative ubiquity of food production infrastructure helps makers get their start, but that the unique character of food inputs and distribution networks pose distinct challenges and opportunities as they grow. Economic development efforts to support FaB makers should focus on nurturing local demand, developing food-oriented intermediaries, and ensuring affordable production space.
KW - entrepreneurship
KW - food and beverage manufacturing
KW - local economic development
KW - maker movement
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85058971599&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85058971599&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/0891242418808377
DO - 10.1177/0891242418808377
M3 - Article
VL - 33
SP - 39
EP - 50
JO - Economic Development Quarterly
JF - Economic Development Quarterly
SN - 0891-2424
IS - 1
ER -