Red meat product range designed for older New Zealanders chosen as 2026 Dragon’s Den winner
A New Zealand red meat product range with “tongue-soft” texture for elderly or unwell people has won the 2026 Meat Industry Association (MIA) Dragon’s Den competition.
Ron Park, chief executive and founder of Canterbury-based health supplements company Kōrure, was named as winner of the competition, which challenges Kiwis to develop innovative and practical solutions to enhance export value and advance New Zealand’s red meat sector.
Mr Park is exploring the development of a “Kiwi Tender” range of premium New Zealand red meat products processed to achieve a texture so tender it can be crushed with the tongue, without chewing, while retaining the shape, flavour, and nutritional density of whole muscle meat.
The core innovation is to adapt the successful Eatender model, developed in Taiwan, to New Zealand’s grass-fed red meat. This includes developing a New Zealand-specific tenderisation protocol where parameters would be developed and optimised for New Zealand grass-fed meat.
Mr Park – known as the “Mussel King” for his work with green lipped mussels – has been awarded $10,000 to develop a business case and progress his idea into a research project.
“This is the second year we have run the competition, and once again we saw a number of exceptional proposals for research and development,” said Nathan Guy, independent chairman of the Meat Industry Association.
“Ultimately, our panel of expert judges chose Ron’s proposal because of the opportunities for global interest in applying a uniquely Kiwi innovation to a process which already has a strong foothold in Asia in the hospital and aged care sector.”
Mr Park said he was delighted to have been selected as the Dragon’s Den winner.
“The grant will enable us to build the business case needed to attract investment and bring this product to market.
“Kiwi Tender offers a transformational opportunity for the New Zealand red meat industry, to create a new category of premium export products targeting older adults, the fastest-growing consumer demographic globally.
“By adapting the successful Eatender model to New Zealand’s world-class grass-fed beef and lamb, we can create export-ready products that transform underutilised cuts into high-value senior nutrition solutions.
“Over 333 manufacturers and more than 1,000 products now carry Eatender certification with the global market for easy to eat protein sources estimated at NZ$500 billion.
“With support from leading meat processors and academic expertise, we’re really excited about the potential for this project.”
The Dragon’s Den final took place at the joint MIA-Bioeconomy Science Institute Meat Innovation Workshop in Palmerston North on 11-12 March.
The five finalists had five minutes to pitch their ideas to the judging panel, followed by five minutes of Q&A with the judges and audience.
The judging panel featured industry leaders,
- Nathan Guy, independent chairman, Meat Industry Association
- Andrew Clark, investment manager at MPI’s Primary Sector Growth team
- Neil Smith, Group Manager Market Access and Regulation, Silver Fern Farms
- Chris Mawson, Group Technical Manager, Ovation Ltd