diff --git a/sample.env b/sample.env
index c46436951..bf98995d5 100644
--- a/sample.env
+++ b/sample.env
@@ -63,6 +63,10 @@ DEFAULT_SNMP_PROTOCOL=
 #########################
 # Kafka and Confluent Cloud Properties
 
+# While not strictly required for the ODE to operate properly. Setting this value is required to allow applications outside of the ODE's docker network to connect to Kafka.
+# to connect to Kafka.
+KAFKA_BOOTSTRAP_SERVERS=${DOCKER_HOST_IP}:9092
+
 # The type of Kafka broker to connect to. If set to "CONFLUENT", the broker will be Confluent Cloud. Otherwise, it will be a local Kafka broker.
 KAFKA_TYPE=
 KAFKA_LINGER_MS=1
@@ -141,4 +145,4 @@ ODE_TIM_INGEST_MONITORING_INTERVAL=60
 # ODE STOMP Exporter for Demo UI
 # Set this to false to save resources when running the application in a production environement. The StompStringExporter
 # is exclusively used to support the Demo Console hosted at http://localhost:8080
-ODE_STOMP_EXPORTER_ENABLED=true
\ No newline at end of file
+ODE_STOMP_EXPORTER_ENABLED=true