Strategic planning for the North Carolina wine and grape industry

While strategic planning is well established at the organizational level, its application to sector level local economic development remains understudied. Addressing that gap, this paper presents a longitudinal case study of strategic planning undertaken by the state of North Carolina, USA, for its wine and grape industry across two planning cycles spanning 2014–2025. Grounded in wine tourism and local economic development literature, the study foregrounds the role of public-private partnerships and inclusive stakeholder engagement in translating strategic intent into measurable sector-level outcomes. A four-step framework abbreviated as EILE, is introduced as a replicable model for sector-level strategic planning for other applications. Drawing on SWOT sessions, stakeholder interviews, industry surveys, and longitudinal economic impact data, we demonstrate that coordinated strategic planning contributed to substantial industry growth, including a nearly six-fold increase in economic impact, even in the absence of broader government interventions. These findings underscore the value of disciplined, participatory strategic planning as a tool for development of targeted economic sectors.