Opportunity for

• Eco Caviar are seeking pre-seed investment from Angel, family offices, smart high net worth individuals or corporate food/ag. Ideal investment partner will have existing relationships with egg producer, supply chain or manufacturing that can unlock the opportunity.
  ^This opportunity is only for professional and sophisticated investors.  

Opportunity description

Industry challenge:

Caviar is the roe of the sturgeon, an ancient fish species found primarily across the Caspian Sea and nearby rivers. Consumer demand for premium food products has propelled demand for caviar.

A dramatic decline of sturgeon fish, consumer concerns for animal welfare and a sustainable food system are dramatically impacting traditional caviar markets. Commercial aquaculture of sturgeon and production of farmed caviar has increased, with the market dominated by China. These products have questionable quality issues, taste, and nutritional value, (borax is often used as a preservative), non-sustainable farming methods and authenticity.

Eco Caviar products contain 80% egg, which represents a unique opportunity for an Australian egg producer to access international markets generating a ‘cost of egg / factory gate price multiplier’ around 50x. The global caviar market was valued at US$276.2 million in 2018. Subsequently however, respected UK market research company ‘Technavio’ has forecast a global market valued at US$1.55 billion by 2021.

Current opportunity:

Eco Caviar represents an opportunity to create a premium sustainable caviar-alternative in Australia. Eco Caviar have produced preliminary samples that were well received in domestic and export markets.

Rising global awareness regarding the considerable health benefits offered by caviar, and its widespread applications in the food industry, are the key factors driving the market. Increasing per capita income in developing economies, including China, India, Indonesia, Brazil, and Mexico, is enabling consumers to raise their spending on premium food products including caviar.

China is a growing economy with an established history of preferences for natural healthy products. The fast growing, prosperous middle classes in China aspire to healthier lifestyles, with increased sophistication in their food preferences. The market for natural, healthy products in China alone is currently worth $40 billion per annum.

Pre-seed investment will enable Eco Caviar to establish pilot manufacturing to produce samples for validation of market and consumer demand and refine the manufacturing process steps for scale-up. Forward estimates have been prepared for an initial $150,000 investment for the establishment of a dedicated food production facility and initial production run.

'Enquire now' to connect with the Eco caviar team.

Opportunity background:

Eco Caviar’s patented ‘liquid granulation’ process involves a proprietary process and formulae that preserves the natural properties, valuable nutrients, individual characteristic flavours, textures, aromas, and is sustainable. Every step of the process is energy efficient, resulting in a low carbon footprint. There are other manufactured caviar products on the market, however labels and websites for these products reveal that they contain 60% water, transformed herring, smoke essence, lemon juice, citric acid, acidity regulator, xanthan gum, corn-starch, stabilizers and emulsifiers, squid ink, chemical preservatives. Additionally, each batch must be tested for heavy metal.

With the decline of the sturgeon fish in their natural habitat, widespread aquaculture farming practices now supplies the world with caviar. The extremely high labour and production costs, also the sturgeon’s ten up to twenty-two years growth period to gestation, before harvest (slaughter) makes farmed caviar products excessively expensive. Despite the cost involved, the surge in aquaculture, means China already produces over half of the world’s caviar production.

Potential other application:

Eco Caviar have developed an exclusive range of premium natural seafood products, meeting the desires of those discerning 21st century consumers in both domestic and international markets, who demand ‘super food’ products, while supporting values of animal welfare and sustainable food production.

The Eco Caviar product which has been specifically formulated to replicate the taste, texture, aroma, colour and spherical shape of Beluga Caviar and establish a quality benchmark for this category, with its distinctive velvety character, lustrous appearance, and complex taste nuances, perfectly complemented by the finest wines and Champagne.

Eco Caviar have also developed further premium products such as a special chocolate variety, demonstrating the technology’s versatility. Our technology platform can also be applied in the nutraceutical Industry to produce new functional food products. Eco Caviar will explore collaboration and chain partnership opportunities with the burgeoning scientific and nutritional fucoidan enterprises, also selected producers such as truffle growers, and wild native plant and fruit species.