KFC is bringing breakfast to more Australian restaurants, expanding its morning menu across the Gold Coast and Melbourne CBD. The rollout follows a trial at Sydney Airport, with KFC Breakfast now available from 6 am at 16 participating restaurants across the Gold Coast and 13 participating restaurants in Melbourne CBD. The menu gives KFC a bigger run at the morning crowd, adding eggs, bacon, avocado, tomato relish, hash browns and made-to-order hot drinks to the chain’s usual chicken territory. Vanessa Rowed, CMO at KFC Australia, said, “The next chapter for KFC is about staying true to the brand’s entrepreneurial spirit while continuing to reinvent for the next generation of customers and ever-changing consumer preferences and habits. “We know Australians love their breakfast, and following the successful trial of KFC morning meals at Sydney Airports, we’re excited to roll out our new menu and give customers even more ways to enjoy KFC throughout the day.” Breakfast items include: Bacon & Egg Roll: Crispy bacon, fluffy egg and tomato relish served in a toasted Turkish bun. BLAT: Crispy bacon, sliced tomato, creamy avocado and fresh lettuce, finished with tomato relish in a toasted Turkish bun. Chicken Bacon & Egg Roll: Original Crispy fillet, crispy bacon, egg and tomato relish served in a toasted Turkish bun. Chicken Toastie: Original Crispy fillet, cheese and Pepper Mayo sauce toasted in a Turkish bun. The menu also includes Avo Toast, the Ultimate Brekkie Wrap, Bacon & Egg Pockets, the Brekkie Tower and KFC Hash Browns. For anyone who wants the chicken turned up early, meals featuring the Original Crispy fillet can be swapped to a Zinger fillet. KFC is also adding hot drinks to the breakfast menu, including cappuccino, latte, flat white, mocha, long black and espresso. The coffee is made with a full-bodied blend with notes of nut, chocolate and caramel. Black tea and hot chocolate are also available. KFC Breakfast is available now at participating Gold Coast and Melbourne CBD restaurants, in restaurant and via the KFC App. Source: Ogilvy PR Find more food and drink news on Crumb Wire.

Fine Food Australia has wrapped its 2026 event in Melbourne, drawing more than 18,000 visitors to the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre across four days. Running from August 31 to September 3, the trade-only event brought together more than 900 exhibitors across foodservice, hospitality and retail, covering everything from bakery, beverages, meat, seafood and dairy to catering equipment and hospitality technology. The 2026 edition featured exhibitors from more than 30 countries, 70 presentations across four stages, 43 speakers, four major competitions, 1,821 pies judged and six bespoke gelato flavours from six national finalists. The wins The 2026 edition also crowned new winners across four major competitions, along with a special innovation award. Australian Gelato Cup, Australia’s first winners: May Quah and Apple Robles, Oh My Gelato!, VIC The Official Great Aussie Pie Grand Champion: Orange Spot Bakery, SA 2026 Nestlé Golden Chef of the Year: Chef Ashleigh Handsaker, NSW Bake Skills Australia Apprentice Baker of the Year: Stavriana Taliadorors, Sunraysia Bread and Butter, VIC Bake Skills Australia Pastry Apprentice: Sophie Wedding, Brighton Best Bake House, TAS Innovation Award: GRILL X, an autonomous AI-powered grilling system developed by Seoul-based physical AI foodtech company Beyond Honeycomb. The system is designed to address grill staffing and consistency challenges, using multispectral sensing and artificial intelligence to read food as it cooks and respond to its cooking state in real time. Event Director Sinead Kavanagh said, “Melbourne always brings a special energy to the event. From tech innovation to new products from our official Country Partner, the US, and around the world, and connecting with industry leaders. The show was a true representation of what is impacting the industry at the moment.” Fine Food Australia remains the largest food and hospitality trade event in the Southern Hemisphere, with the show alternating annually between Melbourne and Sydney. The event brings together local and international suppliers, manufacturers, buyers and decision-makers across Australia’s food industry. Find more food and drink news on Crumb Wire.

Dolmio is bringing back the famous puppet family that helped make its pasta sauce ads part of Australian supermarket memory. More than 20 years after Papa, Mama and the rest of the Italian-inspired puppet family first appeared, Dolmio is reviving the characters in a new campaign celebrating family mealtime. The brand has long been tied to weeknight pasta in Australian households, with supermarket staples including tomato pasta sauce, bolognese, lasagne sauce and pasta bake sauce. Rachel Humphrey, Marketing Director, Mars Food & Nutrition Australia, said, “The Dolmio Family has been part of Australian households for more than two decades and remains one of the most recognisable parts of our brand’s history. “As we looked to the future of the brand, we saw an opportunity to celebrate a family that a whole generation of Aussies grew up with. Bringing them back is about reconnecting with that nostalgia, while introducing them to a new generation in a way that feels fresh, relevant and true to what made them so memorable in the first place.” The relaunch also includes the Dolmio Puppetiser, a limited-time digital experience that lets families upload photos and turn them into personalised Dolmio-style puppet portraits. Some participants will have the chance to see their puppet portraits featured on digital billboards in selected locations across Australia. The original Dolmio Family was created in Australia in 2003 by Sydney-based special effects studio Make-Up Effects Group, using handcrafted puppets, costumes and animatronics. The characters later appeared in global campaigns and became one of Australia’s most recognisable brand marketing exports. For the new campaign, Papa, Mama and the rest of the family have been recreated digitally. Actors’ performances were captured using motion technology and refined by animators, with 3D artists designing the characters to keep the puppet-like feel of the originals. The characters are also voiced by Italian-born actors. Humphrey said, “The original Dolmio Family was created to capture the joy, humour and connection that happens around the dinner table. “Our Puppetiser gives families the opportunity to become part of that story themselves. It’s a new way to celebrate what has always sat at the heart of Dolmio: bringing people together, one meal at a time.” The campaign is partly about nostalgia, but Dolmio is not just putting the puppets back on screen and calling it a comeback. Through the Puppetiser, created in partnership with oOh!media and POLY, families can place themselves inside the same visual world. Content creators will lead the initial rollout, with the campaign also running across out-of-home billboards, social content and PR activity. The idea is tied to Dolmio’s Wear the Dolmio Grin platform, celebrating the different personalities, traditions and dinner-table moments that shape family life. For anyone who remembers the original ads, the return is a very specific kind of supermarket nostalgia: red sauce jars, big family dinners and puppet faces that somehow lodged themselves in the Australian advertising memory bank. Source: Herd MSL Find more food culture updates on Crumb Wire.

Lipton is putting The Jungle Giants on the Manly Fast Ferry for a one-afternoon floating gig on Sydney Harbour. On Thursday, September 10, the Brisbane band will perform across multiple afternoon ferry crossings as part of Sparkling Sessions, an activation tied to the launch of Lipton’s new Zero Sugar Sparkling Iced Tea range. For Sydney commuters, the set turns the usual ferry ride home into something closer to a tour send-off. The band is coming off its Australian tour and the release of its fifth album, Experiencing Feelings of Joy, before heading to the US. The Jungle Giants have also been getting attention for their triple j Like A Version cover of Underworld’s Born Slippy, which became a fan favourite and sparked calls for an official release. Commuters on board may hear it live, alongside songs from the new album and some of the band’s biggest tracks. The activation is tied to Lipton’s research on commute boredom and the role music already plays in getting through the trip. The research found 59 per cent of Gen Z call the commute one of the most boring parts of their day, while 62 per cent have found ways to avoid it altogether, including chucking a sickie, making up an excuse to work from home or even turning down a job. It also found 77 per cent of Gen Z listen to music while travelling, 30 per cent say a great song has completely changed their mood, and 17 per cent believe live entertainment would make the daily commute better. Sam Hales, lead singer of The Jungle Giants, said, “We’ve played some pretty wild places over the years, but never on the high seas, so this is going to be a fun new experience. Absolutely loving the idea of livening up everyone’s daily commute with a live show. “We’re about to head off to the US, so getting to squeeze in one last show on a ferry, on Sydney Harbour of all places, feels like the perfect send-off.” DJ Mistah Cee will also play between crossings, while passengers will be able to try Lipton’s new Sparkling Iced Tea range on board. The new Zero Sugar Sparkling Iced Tea is made with real tea leaves and comes in three flavours: Lemon Lime, Berry and Tropical. It is available now at major supermarkets nationally for RRP $4.00 for a 1.25L bottle. Sparkling Sessions will take over the Manly Fast Ferry on Thursday, September 10. Lipton will reveal clues about which ferry to catch via its Instagram handle – @liptoniceteaanz. Source: Akcelo Find more food culture updates on Crumb Wire.