Drinks education body WSET today announced that Asahi UK is the first national field sales and technical operations team to complete its new Level 1 Award in Beer qualification.
Over 80 sales and commercial employees at Asahi UK, the company behind premium beer brands such as Peroni Nastro Azzurro, Asahi Super Dry and Fuller’s London Pride, completed the WSET beer course.
Launched by WSET earlier this year, the Level 1 Award in Beer provides trade professionals and beer enthusiasts with foundational knowledge in beer production, styles, service, food pairing and tasting. The course, available both online and in person, equips students with the skills to understand and describe beer through WSET’s Systematic Approach to Tasting, offering a global qualification recognised across the UK and Ireland.
Members of Asahi UK’s sales team took the course through WSET’s Online Classroom, with an in-person exam included in a team training day, aiming to enhance their expertise for current and future roles.
“We’re delighted that Asahi UK is the first commercial sales force to take our Level 1 beer qualification,” said Natalya Watson, WSET business development manager for beer. “We’ve had great feedback from their employees that the course has elevated their understanding of different beer styles and boosted their confidence in sales and customer service.”
Craig Nelson, director of sales at Asahi UK, added: “We have an unrivalled premium portfolio at Asahi UK and pride ourselves on delivering consultative customer service. Knowledge of beer is at the core of our commercial and technical teams, so we committed to WSET training to ensure our team’s expertise matches our product standards.”
Asahi UK’s initiative marks a new benchmark for the beer sector, with WSET hoping other drinks companies will follow in offering similar training to their teams.