Founded in 2006, Aquatir Caviar is making its debut on the international stage at the 2023 Seafood Expo Global.
The company has now firmly established its farming practices and is ready to ramp up production to meet market demand, according to Aquatir Trade and Marketing Director Sergey Yakovlev.
“Our emphasis is on quality, not quantity, but we always adapt to what the market demands, and we have the possibility to grow further,” Yakovlev told SeafoodSource at the expo.
Aquatir now has 450 metric tons (MT) of live fish, including osetra, beluga, sterlet, and a beluga-sterlet hybrid, and will produce 6 MT of caviar in 2023, according to Yakovlev. It currently sells into Europe, the United States, and Asia, but he said the company has room to grow in each market, with a particular eye on Asia.
Aquatir’s fish comes from the Caspian Sea, the Black Sea, and the Volga River, but Yakovlev said the species the company farms are all native to the Dnister River, which flows through its hometown of Tiraspol, Moldova. Aquatir uses artisanal water from wells dug to 70 meters, and filters all of its water twice per hour to ensure its purity, he said. The company uses no hormones, antibiotics, or genetically modified organisms in its feed, and uses salt as its only preservative for its caviar.
Yakovlev acknowledged that as a young company and as Moldova’s only caviar firm, it holds upstart status in the global caviar marketplace, but he said he doesn’t view other producers as competitors.
“Everybody produces the caviar they can,” he said. “Many other companies and geographical areas have a long history of producing caviar. We think as long as everyone maintains quality in their production methods, there is room for everyone.”
Aquatir Marketing Manager Viorika Grimakovskaya said the company is focused on making caviar an “affordable luxury.”
“We are establishing our part in [the] market, thanks to our quality and our prices,” she said. “We can offer very good price[s], and that is good because we want more people to [be able to] afford caviar.”
Aquatir is also trying out new ways of bringing consumers into caviar for the first time, or those who can’t afford a tin of caviar, by offering freeze-dried caviar that can be grated or minced and added as a flavoring or a spice to a dinner. Or a dessert – Grimakovskaya said it’s lovely paired with ice cream.
“Everyone wants ‘la dolce vita,’” she said. “We want to give as many people as possible a taste of it.”
Photo courtesy of Cliff White/SeafoodSource
