Sales Representative

THE VISION FOR THIS ROLE

North American Sake Brewery is Virginia’s first sake brewery — craft, American-made sake, brewed in Charlottesville and built on one simple promise: “Hard to make. Easy to love.” We’ve spent years making a misunderstood, ancient beverage feel friendly, and the DMV is now one of the most important markets in North American Sake Brewery’s growth story.

That’s where you come in. As our DMV-area sales representative, you’ll grow awareness and sales for North American Sake Brewery across the region — expanding our footprint in the wholesale channel, increasing distribution and volume across on- and off-premise accounts, and supporting sell-through with brand promotions, tastings, and education. You’ll build strong, long-term relationships with retail buyers, on-and off-premise accounts, our distributor partners, and the consumers who become lifelong sake advocates. This is a brand-building seat: you are the face of North American Sake Brewery in the market, and you’ll have real room to make it your own.

ABOUT YOU

You bring a growth mindset and a real eagerness to learn. Talking to people comes naturally, and you’re thoughtful and empathetic about the way you educate and connect with others. You’re organized, diligent, and self-motivated; you carry yourself with professionalism and strong business etiquette; and you bring genuine drive to everything you take on. You’re a sharp problem-solver who adapts quickly, thinks on your feet, listens actively, and stays observant and attentive to what each account needs. You don’t need to know sake yet — we’ll teach you, all the way down to time in the brewery with our toji — but you’re genuinely curious about craft beverages and excited to become the person in the room who makes sake make sense. Bonus points if you already understand how restaurants, bars, and retail shops operate, or if you have beverage sales experience — but neither is required.

ABOUT US

Founded by head brewer Andrew Centofante after training in Japan at a 200-year-old brewery, North American Sake Brewery has spent the past several years refining its craft, growing production tenfold, and creating thousands of new sake advocates through our Charlottesville tasting room and our Bad Luck Ramen shop. We’re founding members of the Sake Brewers Association of North America and award-winners across multiple national and international competitions. Our values are simple: craftsmanship, curiosity, respect for tradition and culture, authenticity, and generosity through education.

Want to really know us? Spend a few minutes at pourmeone.com and on our Instagram and Facebook before you apply — it’s the best way to get to know our story, our products, and the way we talk about sake.

JOB SUMMARY

As our DMV-area sales representative, you’ll nurture and grow our retail accounts, prospect for new business, and coordinate promotional activities to drive sales across the territory. You’ll plan, organize, and control your own sales functions — from prospecting through account acquisition — to hit our growth goals. Day-to-day, you’ll work hand-in-hand with our distributor partners, educate retail and distribution staff about our brand and products, troubleshoot account issues as they arise, and represent North American Sake Brewery at special events like festivals, tastings, and trade shows. You’ll travel to various markets within the territory, meet with management on a recurring basis, keep accurate records in our CRM, track sales-related expenses, and maintain a healthy balance between administrative work and customer-facing selling. It’s a fun, dynamic industry — and we expect you to represent the North American Sake Brewery brand professionally at all times.

PREFERRED CAPABILITIES

• Must be 21 years of age or older
• A self-starter who can comfortably reach and cover our account base across the DMV area
• Ability to represent North American Sake Brewery responsibly and professionally at all times, as an extension of the brand
• A growth mindset and genuine appetite for learning — about sake, the craft beverage industry, and hospitality; familiarity with the three-tier distribution system is a plus
• Excellent organizational, presentation, communication, and problem-solving skills
• Strong time-management and prioritization skills, and the discipline to run your own route and schedule
• A strong work ethic, both independently and as part of a small, collaborative team working toward company-wide goals
• Excellent interpersonal and relationship-building skills, with the ability to find common ground across a wide range of personalities
• Comfort with technology — Google Business Suite and other common business software tools; experience with a CRM and/or VIP Karma is a plus
• The ability to adapt to a fast-changing, growing-brand environment
• Availability to work a flexible schedule around accounts, including some nights and weekends
• Ability to travel as required for sales calls and events, including periodic trips to the Charlottesville brewery
• A clean driving record and your own reliable vehicle

ACCOUNTABILITIES & RESULTS WE’RE SEEKING

• Embrace and demonstrate alignment with North American Sake Brewery’s mission, principles, and values
• Speak with intelligence and passion about our brand, our craft, and our products — and make sake approachable for people who’ve never tried it
• Lead staff trainings and education for on- and off-premise accounts and distributor personnel, plus in-store demos that drive trial and velocity
• Adhere to all state and federal alcohol laws governing the sale, merchandising, and promotion of beverage alcohol
• Consistently strive to meet the sales and distribution goals set by management, and contribute to overall sales strategy and goal planning
• Communicate thoroughly and regularly with ownership and management, and participate in weekly and/or monthly sales meetings (in person and/or virtual)
• Understand — or quickly learn — our data reporting system to track depletions, rate of sale, and account activity
• Organize an efficient daily and weekly route, hitting a strong, consistent cadence of in-person account calls each week
• Maintain and grow sales and presence across the territory
• Secure branded point-of-sale placement — shelf talkers, table cards, and displays — where it drives sales and makes sense
• Monitor product freshness at the distributor and at each account; freshness is one of our core quality promises
• Participate in distributor work-withs and ride-alongs, and attend wholesaler planning meetings
• Set up, execute, and work in-store promotions, tastings, and special events — which may fall on any day of the week — to build sales and distribution
• Keep up-to-date account notes — information, purchasing habits, goals, and contacts — in our CRM, accessed from both your mobile phone and desktop (training provided)
• Run reports, place orders, and communicate account needs through our sales and group-communication software (training provided)
• Handle administrative tasks accurately and on time — expense reports, returning sales correspondence, territory recaps, etc.
• Inform management of any training, equipment, or product needs
• Adhere to company-wide safety practices and standards (training provided)

NICE TO HAVE, BUT NOT REQUIRED

• A bachelor’s degree
• Previous work experience in food, beverage, or CPG sales, or in a hospitality setting
• Bonus points for experience in beverage alcohol or distribution sales
• Any familiarity with sake, beer, wine, or craft beverage, but a willingness to learn matters far more than what you already know

PHYSICAL ASPECTS YOU MIGHT ENCOUNTER

• Frequent car travel across the DMV area, with occasional trips to the Charlottesville brewery
• Occasional lifting of items ranging from 25–50 lbs
• Tasting of alcoholic beverages for quality control
• Regular visits to bars, restaurants, liquor stores, and other hospitality establishments
• Installing marketing materials — which may require using stools or ladders, lifting, bending, and stretching
• Being present in one place for multiple hours in accordance with event or promotion guidelines

LOCATION

Location is flexible. We’re looking for someone based in the DC metro, Northern Virginia, or the Baltimore metro area — as long as you can easily reach our account base. Most of the work is done remotely and is self-managed, with periodic trips to our Charlottesville, VA brewery.

COMPENSATION & SUPPORT

• Base salary: $49,000–$52,000 per year, depending on experience
• Quarterly performance bonus: with the potential to earn $2,000+ per quarter against a clear performance scorecard tied to sales and distribution goals — with room to grow as you grow the territory
• Monthly stipend: $700 per month toward vehicle, fuel, and technology
• Equipment: you provide your own smartphone, laptop, and reliable vehicle; the monthly stipend helps offset these costs
• Brand & sales support: full POS and sales-material toolkit, tasting and event support, hands-on training, and direct access to our toji and brewery team — we set our reps up to win

DIVERSITY & INCLUSION

North American Sake Brewery is building a team that reflects a wide range of backgrounds and perspectives. We welcome applicants of every background — including those from communities historically underrepresented in craft beverage — and this role is open to all qualified candidates.

HOW TO APPLY

To apply, click the link below and complete our short questionnaire — it’s how we get to know candidates and decide who to move forward with. At the end of the form, you’ll be able to upload your resume. Please follow the steps exactly as laid out: this role relies on attention to detail and follow-through, and how you handle this first step tells us a lot.

https://forms.gle/m5det1USVknkBBHH9

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OUR PROMISE

“Hard to make. Easy to love.” North American Sake Brewery is Virginia’s first craft sake brewery— American-made sake brewed in Charlottesville with soft Blue Ridge runoff water and American-grown rice. We exist to make a misunderstood, ancient beverage feel friendly: to teach more people how to enjoy sake in everyday life, without ever dumbing it down. We’re students of the craft first, and we sell the way we brew — with curiosity, respect, and pride.