Sweet As launches in Sydney this August, giving diners a new AI-powered way to find restaurants, bars and cafes beyond the usual “top venue” lists. The hospitality discovery platform combines social content, search and AI to help users explore venues by vibe, menu and experience, while giving operators another way to be found beyond follower counts and crowded social feeds. The platform has been designed for both food lovers and venue owners, with a discovery feed that uses real user behaviour, curated content and intelligent search to surface venues through actual dining moments. Sweet As co-founder Tara Williams said: “Our goal with Sweet As is to bring the magic of discovering new dining spots back to the forefront of hospitality. We want venues to be found for what makes them special, not just their follower numbers, and give foodies a smarter, more human way to choose where to eat.” Users will be able to explore thousands of curated “Eatlists”, which work like Spotify playlists for favourite restaurants, bars and cafes across the city. For venues, Sweet As will offer tools to connect with regular customers, send personalised deals and rewards, run targeted campaigns and measure how those campaigns perform. The platform will also allow users to move from discovery to booking or ordering in one tap, giving venues a more direct path from interest to action. Venue owners will be able to access data showing who is discovering them, what diners are searching for and how promotions are performing. Sweet As is also positioning itself as a discovery platform without paid ads or commissions, giving venues a more level playing field when appearing in suggestions. “With Sweet As, we’re redefining hospitality discovery,” Williams said. “Venues now have a platform to truly showcase their story, their menu, and their vibe, and connect with diners who are actively seeking authentic experiences.” The launch comes as hospitality operators continue to compete for attention across social media, search, booking platforms and influencer-led recommendations, with Sweet As aiming to create one place where diners can discover, save and share new spots around Sydney. Source: Bennett PR Find more food and drink news on Crumb Wire.

DoorDash has added more than 150 Woolworths stores to its grocery delivery platform, making on-demand Woollies delivery available across more than 100 new Australian postcodes. The expansion gives more customers access to fresh groceries, pantry staples, household essentials and everyday items through DoorDash, with thousands of Woolworths products now available to browse through the app. It also adds another layer to Woolworths’ growing fast-grocery play. The supermarket giant acquired rapid-delivery startup MILKRUN in 2023, relaunching it as part of its own convenience delivery offering. Now, Woolworths is widening its reach through DoorDash too, giving customers another on-demand option alongside MILKRUN and Delivery Now. “At DoorDash, we’re focused on giving Australians more choice, value and convenience in how they shop. By expanding Woolworths to more than 150 additional stores and unlocking access in over 100 new postcodes, we’re making everyday grocery shopping more accessible for more communities across the country,” a DoorDash spokesperson said. “Whether it’s a planned weekly shop, a forgotten ingredient for dinner or a last-minute household essential, we’re making it easier for customers to get the products they need, when and where they need them.” The move comes as grocery delivery gets increasingly crowded in Australia. Last year, DoorDash partnered with ALDI Australia on the supermarket’s first grocery delivery service, beginning with a Canberra trial in July before expanding nationwide. New South Wales was the final state to join the rollout in September. To mark the Woolworths expansion, DoorDash is offering 40 per cent off first Woolworths grocery orders. For DoorDash, the rollout strengthens its grocery marketplace beyond restaurants and takeaway, putting more supermarket options into the same app people already use for dinner, top-up shops and last-minute essentials. Woolworths Director of Ultra Convenience David Berger said, “We’re pleased to build on our partnership with DoorDash to give our customers even more choice in how they choose to shop with us. This expansion introduces an additional on-demand option alongside our MILKRUN and Delivery Now services, helping us reach more customers, more often, through platforms they already use every day.” Customers can now shop Woolworths through DoorDash for fresh produce, meat, dairy, bakery items, pantry staples, household essentials and more, with delivery direct to their door. Source: Herd MSL Find more food retail updates on Crumb Wire.

After picking up serious hype overseas, Red Bull‘s Sudachi Lime and Cherry Sakura Sugarfree flavours are now hitting local shelves. The two limited-edition releases are available now at 7-Eleven stores, ahead of a broader rollout across major retailers from August. Sudachi Lime arrives as Red Bull’s Summer Edition in a summer sun yellow can, with a citrus profile that combines sour-sweet Japanese sudachi with lime, a hint of pomelo and citrus peel. Cherry Sakura Sugarfree is the zero-sugar release, blending sweet cherry sakura with notes of almond and floral cherry blossom. Both flavours have already built dedicated followings in international markets. Sudachi Lime has sparked online hype, while Cherry Sakura Sugarfree has had fans calling for it to become a permanent part of the Red Bull Editions lineup. Red Bull athlete and Australian skateboarder Rome Collyer was among the first Australians to try the new Editions. “Wow, I rate the Cherry Sakura Sugarfree version. It’s perfect for a 3 pm pick-me-up and tastes like a cheeky Cherry treat,” he says. “As for the Summer Edition with Sudachi Lime, it’s probably my favourite Edition, ever. I’d drink that all day every day. Whenever it’s hot, this is the one to drink, for sure. It’s really refreshing.” Across international markets, customers have taken to TikTok sharing rave reviews, including @colemansiegfriedreviews commenting on the flavour of Red Bull Cherry Edition Sugarfree: Cherry Sakura. “I was expecting more of a candy cherry flavour. Oh no… This tastes exactly like if you were to reach your hand in a fresh bag of Cherries and just start tossing them back. This is a very fresh Cherry flavour… 9/10.” On Red Bull Summer Edition: Sudachi Lime, TikTokker @capsnsnaxx said: “You definitely get that lime flavour up front, but it’s not like a regular lime; you get a citrus twist too. This is low-key refreshing. I’m giving this an 8.3 out of 10.” Both releases deliver the same functional benefits of Red Bull Energy Drink, with Cherry Sakura offering the same Red Bull Energy Drink formula with zero sugar. In Australia, the new flavours join Red Bull’s existing Editions range, which includes The Red Edition, The Tropical Edition, The Pink Edition Sugarfree, The Peach Edition, The Blue Edition and The Lilac Edition Sugarfree. Red Bull Summer Edition: Sudachi Lime and Red Bull Cherry Edition Sugarfree: Cherry Sakura are available now at 7-Eleven stores, ahead of a broader rollout across major retailers from August. Source: Wired Co. Find more food retail updates on Crumb Wire.

Sydney’s Colombo Social is launching a Sri Lankan High Tea that will help fund meals for children across Sri Lanka’s east coast. The new weekend experience, launching in Sydney on Saturday, July 11, is tied to Harvest2, a new long-term food security, education and sustainable agriculture program from Plate it Forward, Dilmah Tea and the MJF Charitable Foundation. Every High Tea booking will fund 10 meals for children supported through the initiative, connecting diners at Colombo Social directly to school meal programs in Sri Lanka. Harvest2 is already underway across the Batticaloa District and will expand across 23 rural schools over the next 12 months, supporting more than 2,700 children through daily meals, environmental education and community-led agriculture. The program builds on Dilmah’s Sustainable Empowerment Programme, connecting small-scale farmers, schools and community kitchens through a local food system designed to support both students and farming families. Through the initiative, small-scale farmers will supply fresh produce directly to school kitchens across the Batticaloa District, creating stable income pathways for local families while helping students access nutritious daily meals. Participating schools will also become hubs for environmental and agricultural education, with organic gardens, fruit orchards, native tree planting, beekeeping initiatives and biogas-powered kitchens. A long way from the pass For Plate it Forward Founder Shaun Christie-David, Harvest2 is the social enterprise’s most ambitious international initiative to date. Christie-David says, “The sliding door moment of Mum and Dad leaving Sri Lanka for Australia changed the course of our lives and gave us opportunities we could never have imagined, in a country we are so proud to now call home. “But with that has always come a deep desire to give back and honour the opportunities and luck we have had. “For us, that means returning to the east coast of Sri Lanka, a place that has experienced so much hardship through war and economic challenges, and doing what we know best – changing lives through food.” The project extends Plate it Forward’s work using food to create opportunity, address food insecurity and support communities through hospitality, while returning that model to Sri Lanka’s east coast. Harvest2 also has a strong focus on women-led employment pathways, with local mothers engaged to prepare meals through community kitchen programs designed to feel familiar, accessible and reflective of rural home kitchens. “Harvest2 is such a holistic approach to impact. It’s not just about feeding children. It’s about creating long-term change through food education, organic and sustainable gardens, and employment pathways for women who have long been excluded from the workforce, while providing healthy, nutritious meals for children who deserve every opportunity in life,” Christie-David continues. The initiative is also deeply personal for Christie-David, who is leading the project alongside his mother, Shiranie Christie-David. Originally from Batticaloa, Shiranie migrated from Sri Lanka’s east coast during the civil war. Harvest2 represents a long-held vision between mother and son to give back to the communities she left behind, turning their connection to Sri Lanka into long-term impact for future generations. “In this day and age, it really saddens me to see that there are children still going hungry. There shouldn’t be a child who has to go looking for food,” says Shiranie Christie-David. “Batticaloa is where my mum grew up, and it brings back a lot of nostalgia for me. I’m so happy that we are able to move forward with this project in my hometown. “What we are trying to do is ensure we never forget our roots or take for granted the opportunities we have had. This is our way of giving back to Sri Lanka in our own small way.” High tea, higher purpose The partnership will come to life in Sydney through Colombo Social’s new Sri Lankan High Tea, available every Saturday and Sunday from 12 pm – 4 pm. Priced at $50 per person, the experience includes unlimited Dilmah tea and a menu that focuses on classic Sri Lankan flavours and family recipes. The High Tea features ribbon sandwiches, seeni sambol and cheese tarts, lamb curry sausage rolls, beef patties, fish cutlets and pol roti served with sambols. For a sweet treat to follow, diners can expect Amma’s love cake, spiced snails and freshly baked scones with Sri Lankan pineapple jam and nutmeg clotted cream. Guests can also upgrade to unlimited tea-inspired mocktails for $20 or cocktails for $40. Every High Tea booking will fund 10 meals for children supported through Harvest2. “At Dilmah, we believe in making the world a better tea. Through Harvest2 and our partnership with Colombo Social, we bring this mission to life in a very tangible way,” says Dilhan C. Fernando, CEO & Chairman, Dilmah. “My sincere thanks to Shaun, Shiranie and the wonderful team at Plate it forward for helping connect Australian diners with our mission. “From July 11, every diner at Sri Lankan High Tea at Colombo Social will help support schoolchildren, farming families and sustainable livelihoods in Sri Lanka. It demonstrates the extraordinary impact that can happen when hospitality, community and purpose come together.” Locally, Plate it Forward has donated more than 664,000 meals to support food security and delivered more than 280,000 hours of paid training and employment opportunities to people facing barriers to work. Harvest2 builds on that impact, extending the organisation’s community-led model into Sri Lanka. “Thinking with empathy, care and humanity means asking yourself what someone going through difficult circumstances truly needs most. Sometimes the simplest and most powerful way to show someone you care about them is by feeding them,” Christie-David concludes. “To be able to say to our customers that by dining with us, they are helping feed children facing hardship, is something incredibly meaningful.” Source: Electric Collective Find more dining out updates on Crumb Wire.