Other News Feeds Drinks Business Review - Alocoholic Drinks News Feeds   Drinks Business Review Online - Alcoholic Drinks News Latest Alcoholic Drinks news from Drinks Business Review Online Diageo says inputs costs will continue to rise Alcoholic drinks group Diageo said that its input costs will rise by 3% or around GBP90 million in its current year to the end of June 2008, but the rise would be higher in its following year to end-June 2009, reported Reuters. Diageo denies talks with Irish government regarding headquarters shift Brewer Diageo has denied any discussions between the company's senior executives, including CEO Paul Walsh, and Ireland's deputy prime minister Mary Coughlan, regarding the shifting of its headquarters from the UK to Ireland to save on corporate taxes, reported Reuters, quoting Michael Patten, the company's head of corporate relations. Lion Nathan selects Quickcomm for telecom expense management services Lion Nathan, an Australian alcoholic beverages company, has chosen Quickcomm, a provider of telecommunications expense management software and services, for telecom expense management services. Kuehne + Nagel signs distribution contract with Brasseries Kronenbourg Kuehne + Nagel, a provider of logistics services, has signed a seven-year contract with Brasseries Kronenbourg, the French brewer company, to partner it in the outsourced management of its distribution centers in France. Product claims: new drinks launches, December 2007 to February 2008 According to Productscan, 'high vitamins' was the leading claim on new global drinks launches between December 2007 and February 2008. Indeed, during the period, the 'high vitamins claim' appeared on more than 14% of new launches. Likewise, the 'upscale' and 'natural' claims, which remain at second and third place on the leader board, respectively, appeared on over 10% of new launches. An increase of a third in the number of new products tagged as 'pure' was also seen during the period. The Co-operative Group is in pursuit of scale The Co-op Group has announced encouraging results after its recent merger with United Co-operatives. Improvements to store environments and product ranges have helped the group to grow sales, while the recent merger with United Co-operatives has helped it to realize significant cost savings. Looking ahead, the group is poised to add more scale with the acquisition of rival retailer Somerfield. New drinks review: presenting beer in less than true colors This month's round-up of new products from the Productscan database features some unusual beer products. In Germany, Becks is set to launch a colorless beer, while a Japanese company has introduced a soft drink for kids that looks just like beer. This presents beer in a very different light to its traditional format. New drinks launches by category, December 2007 to February 2008: good times brewing for tea Fruit & fruit flavored drinks was the leading category in new global drinks launches for the three months to February 2008, according to the Productscan database. Meanwhile, tea is at second place on the leader board, having witnessed an increase of nearly 50% in new launches during the period. Coffee is at third place, following an increase in launches of more than a third. Elsewhere, launches of liqueurs and other alcoholic drinks were down 51% compared to the same period the year before. Caprabo: supermarket chain well positioned to face downturn Caprabo has revealed stagnant sales for 2007. However, in the midst of downturn in Spain, the company's focus has shifted to the future: it is integrating more and more into parent company Eroski, and stores are being re-branded under the Eroski banner. Wirtz Beverage announces strategic alignment Wirtz has announced that its portfolio of wine, spirit and beer distributorships would be united under a new organizational operation of the Wirtz Beverage Group.