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New Zealand’s red meat processing and exporting sector has launched its first-ever Dragon’s Den to encourage Kiwis to come up with innovative new ideas to supercharge the industry.

Meat Industry Association (MIA) chief executive Sirma Karapeeva said New Zealand’s red meat processing industry had a proud history of innovation.

“[It] has led the world in a wide range of areas, such as meat science, food safety and technology.

“However in this fast-changing world, we cannot afford to sit on our laurels.”

Karapeeva said MIA knew there were people out there who had ideas but maybe not the resources to take them further.

“MIA’s Dragon’s Den will provide an opportunity for people or businesses to get in front of industry leaders to make their pitch.”

Karapeeva said MIA was looking for transformational ideas for meat industry research and development that would help the sector support the Government’s goal to double the value of exports.

“The idea can be across any discipline and be any development to do with meat, co-products and processing and can come from any organisation or individual.”

Karapeeva said the most promising ideas would be selected to participate in the Dragon’s Den, where people would make a five-minute pitch to a panel of industry experts at the joint AgResearch-MIA Meat Innovation workshop in Palmerston North on March 11.

The best idea will be awarded a grant of up to $10,000 to develop a business case to progress the idea to a research project.

“This is a unique opportunity to make a material difference to the sector and we really encourage anyone who thinks they have a great idea to enter,” Karapeeva said.