[shkkmo]

The primary "risk" removed here is competition. I think exclusivity contracts as a risk hedging tool are bad for the economy. If you need to hedge price risk, we should use insurance or other financial tools for that. Additionally, you can have contracts that lock in prices and quantities without requiring exclusivity.

I would be bummed if my local tap roomed signed an exclusivity contract with a local brewery. These days there often many local breweries and new ones open regularly. It would be a shame for the local taproom to miss out on offering a wider range of beers because they got locked into an exclusivity contract.

If you are providing a discount or kickback or whatever for exclusivity, that is an anticompetitive behavioral, regardless of size.