Paradigm ICON XB Wagyu F1 striploin

A CROSSBRED Wagyu entry displaying abundant marbling and exceptional eating quality has claimed the Royal Queensland Show 2025 branded beef competition.

More than 540 entries in beef, lamb, cheese, dairy, ice cream, gelato and sorbet divisions were saluted in awards presented earlier today.

The Grand Champion Branded Beef of Show was awarded to Paradigm Foods’ ICON XB Wagyu, while the corresponding Champion Branded Lamb of Show went to Royal Wholesale Meats’ Tasmanian Royal.

Brisbane-based Paradigm Foods is a non-packer exporter specialising in Wagyu F1 and Fullblood beef, and a specialised free-range grassfed Wagyu product called Roam.

The ICON XB Wagyu, the company’s foundation brand program, is an F1 Angus crossbred product using mostly high Tajima content paternal genetics. The winning entry came from a breeder in Tasmania.

The program produces marbling scores 4-9+, grainfed for at least 360 days, HGP and antibiotic free. Most of the product is exported into regions including North and South Asia, North America and the Middle East.

It was the second grand championship success in three years for Paradigm, having won the 2023 Brisbane branded beef title with a similar ICON XB Wagyu entry.

Established seven years ago, Paradigm Foods targets high-end international beef markets. The company collaborates with a range of Wagyu breeders, backgrounders and lotfeeders across the eastern states, turning off 400-450 bodies a week, with a strong focus on genetics, nutrition and pre-and post feedlot entry management.

Champion MSA graded branded beef this year was the grainfed class winner, a 200-day grainfed Angus entry from Stockyard Beef’s Stockyard Gold program.

Stockyard’s Kiwami Wagyu brand earned a silver medal in the Wagyu Class, achieving the second highest points of the competition, beating 51 other branded beef entries. Kiwami is the company’s pinnacle Wagyu label, relying on Fullblood genetics fed +400 days.

Stockyard Beef’s chief sales officer, David Clark, said winning the champion medal and a gold medal for the third year in a row was an incredible achievement for Stockyard’s team and testament to their care and consistency across all aspects of production.

The Royal Queensland Awards recognise the nation’s finest produce and producers. The competition assesses beef entries on five criteria including raw appearance, tenderness, flavour, juiciness and overall liking. Stockyard has earned 40 medals in the competition since 2009.

Chief Judge of the Royal Queensland Branded Beef Awards Elaine Millar said this year’s competition was very tight and the visual and taste judging was challenging due to the extraordinary quality of the majority of entries.

“The Grand Champion ICON XB Wagyu is a very deserving winner of the Branded Beef category. It offered the perfect balance of juiciness, tenderness and structure,” she said.

“Every year the judging panel is overwhelmed by the escalation in the quality of the Branded Beef entries. It is an outstanding achievement by our dedicated Australian producers and our retail and food service industries and ultimately the end diner are the beneficiaries.”

Beef entries this year came from across Queensland, Victoria and NSW.

Some of today’s award-winning products will be showcased on the Cooking Stage at the Royal Queensland Show (Ekka) being staged in August.

Results:

Grain Fed Class

• Gold: Stockyard Gold by Stockyard Beef
• Silver: Angus Reserve Black Angus Beef by NH Foods Australia
• Bronze: Southern Grain 150 Day Angus by Australian Meat Group

Grassfed Class

• Gold: Josdale Angus Grass fed by Australian Meat Group
• Silver: Southern Ranges Grass Fed by Australian Meat Group
• Bronze: Angus Pure Grass Fed Beef by Thomas Foods International

Wagyu Marbling Score 6 or less

• Gold: Tajima Australian Grainfed Wagyu by Andrews Meat Industries
• Silver: Black Opal by Harmony Agriculture & Food Company Pty Ltd
• Bronze: Yugo XB Wagyu by Paradigm Foods

Wagyu Marbling Score 7+

• Gold: ICON XB Wagyu by Paradigm Foods
• Silver: Kiwami by Stockyard Beef
• Bronze: Tajima Australian Grainfed Wagyu by Andrews Meat Industries

Open Class

• Gold: JBS Australia Yardstick MB2+ by JBS Australia
• Silver: Coles Finest Carbon Neutral Beef by Coles
• Bronze: Kilcoy Diamond Choice by Kilcoy Global Foods