Internship Story: Josh Francoeur at Boston Beer Company

Josh Francoeur, a senior from Marblehead, MA, channeled his interest in craft beer into a summer internship with the Boston Beer Company. 

How did you hear about this internship?

I found different internships the company was offering on LinkedIn and applied for the sales and marketing internships in the Boston office.

Why did you choose to intern at Boston Beer Company?

I’ve been interested in the craft beer industry for a while now and wanted to see how it operates from a business perspective. I like The Boston Beer Company because of the wide variety of products it offers and the fact that while it is a large company, it is still very focused on building strong relationships in Boston and across New England. They also have an excellent internship program and really focus on developing their interns into future employees.

What were your internship tasks?

One of the big tasks of the internship was conducting samplings in the Greater Boston area at different bars, restaurants, and liquor stores. The company had just launched a new hard vodka iced tea called Sun Cruiser, so sampling was a big priority. By the end of the summer, my fellow interns and I had sampled over 10,000 consumers. 

Another task I had was making sales calls and trying to sell kegs, draft lines, and cans and bottles to restaurants, liquor stores, and hotels. Another big part of the internship was the research project where we chose a spirit-based ready-to-drink cocktail (RTD) and created a 20-minute presentation on how we could boost sales of one or multiple RTD brands within the Boston Beer Company portfolio. I chose Dogfish Head Canned Cocktails and used data from Salesforce and from my own sampling experiences in Greater Boston to show what I thought were the best options to increase sales of the product nationally. 

What did you like most about your internship?

I enjoyed going on sales calls and selling products to other businesses. This gave me extremely valuable insight into the world of sales, especially business-to-business sales, which are so prevalent in today’s world. I learned some great sales techniques and ultimately was able to sell products to a good amount of different locations within the Boston area, which made me feel like a valuable part of the company. 

What were the biggest challenges you faced as an intern?

The biggest challenge I faced this summer was time management. There were some days when I had four samplings in different towns in and around Boston and had to pick up products or POS items (posters, glasses, etc.) in the morning before all of these samplings. This type of travel is common in sales. To be successful and make sure you’re getting to all of your samplings or accounts you planned to go to on that day you need to plan well and account for meetings or calls that might inevitably come up.

What did you learn during your internship that you couldn’t have learned in the classroom?

The most valuable experiences I gained during my internship that couldn’t be learned in a class was going on sales calls and building relationships with other business owners. Selling products to other businesses can be tough, as business owners might not want to take on a new product or replace a product with something new and untested. Learning how to communicate with these business owners and build relationships with them so that both your business and their business can profit and grow was the most important experience I gained this summer.

How will this experience help you as you move forward in your career?

This internship gave me a real appreciation for sales and for the craft beer/beverage industry. The industry is really devoted and caring to the people who work in it, and that was a point of focus that I really appreciated. Moving forward, I will be working as a Brand Ambassador for Boston Beer in the Bangor area during my senior year at UMaine, and after graduation, I hope to continue as a Brewery Representative for the company, hopefully either in Maine or Massachusetts. 

Any advice to share with other students considering an internship?

My advice for students is to apply to lots of different internships. Internships today have become increasingly competitive, so taking the time every day to apply to two to three internships can really help your chances of landing one. I applied to around 70 internships last year in Boston and Maine and interviewed for five of them before I was offered and accepted the internship at Boston Beer Company. 

Why did you decide to study business at the Maine Business School?

I was drawn to the Maine Business School because of the option to pursue a double major in Marketing and Management, as well as the strong network of alumni in the New England area. I truly feel that my time at the Maine Business School gave me the right skills I needed to pursue and succeed in my internship this past summer. 

Hometown: Marblehead, Massachusetts

Year of Graduation: 2025
Majors: Marketing and Management
Internship Title: Sales Intern