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 Constellation Brands Q1 profit up Constellation Brands, an international producer and marketer of beverage alcohol, has reported a gross profit of $329 million for the first quarter ended May 31, 2008, compared to $268.2 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2008. AmBev to construct malt factory in Brazil With an investment of $132 million, AmBev has said that it will construct a new malt factory in Brazil, reported the Spanish news agency Efe. New drinks review: ethical beverages continue to court favor This month's review of new drinks launches from the Productscan database finds that ethical drinks are increasingly being introduced to market. Whether carbon neutral, ethically packaged or with a charitable core, manufacturers are finding that it pays to court consumers' principles in the pursuit of increasing market share. Drinks Americas Holdings's Bourbon business sales up 48% Drinks Americas Holdings, an owner, developer and marketer of premium beverages, has announced that sales of its Old Whiskey River Bourbon business are tracking 48% ahead of last year. Pernod Ricard makes management changes at Irish Distillers and US unit Pernod Ricard has named Alexandre Ricard as CEO and chairman of the company's Irish Distillers business, replacing Paul Duffy, who has been appointed as the CEO and chairman of Pernod's US operations. Tilaknagar Industries to invest INR1.5 billion in two beverage plants Tilaknagar Industries, a manufacturer of alcoholic beverages, intends to expand the capacity of its plant in Srirampur, Maharashtra and set up a grain distillery plant as well. For this, the company has allocated INR1.5 billion. Majestic Wine expects to hike prices by 10% in 2009, says CEO Chief Executive of Majestic Wine, Tim How, has said that the company is likely to hike prices by a minimum of 10% in 2009, revealed Reuters. InBev-Anheuser deal not to radically affect brewing market, says SabMiller A possible deal between brewers InBev and Anheuser-Busch will not radically affect the global brewing competitive market, according to SabMiller, revealed Reuters. Brown-Forman's 2008 net sales up Brown-Forman, a producer and marketer of beverage alcohol brands, has reported net sales of $3.3 billion for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2008, a 17% rise compared to $2.80 billion in fiscal 2007. Product claims: new drinks launches, January to March 2008 According to the Productscan database, 'upscale' was the leading claim made by new drinks launched worldwide between January and March 2008, appearing on more than 14% of new launches during the period. Meanwhile, 'high vitamins' and 'natural' were the claims at second and third place in the top 10 most popular claims. A slight decrease in the number of new products tagged as containing 'no artificial colors' was also seen during the period.