The costs of product development for 'first starters' in this sector can be excruciatingly painful that monetisation can take years. So what about creating a ethical luxury product commanding premium price points knowing there IS a ready market out there for 'something special? #sustainableluxury #ethicalluxury
Recently I had the privilege to obtain a jar of seaweed based caviar which I have to say was absolutely extraordinary, suffice to say I'm in need of more!!
This delightful product comes out of Sweden and is produced by a company called Klades Holmen and can be found HERE.
They describe it like this: 'Our seaweed caviar is an imitation of rockfish roe, made from seaweed. It is used with advantage in both hot and cold dishes as an ingredient and decoration. The natural dyes in the product do not discolour and are therefore well suited as a garnish on, for example, sandwich cakes and in salads"
Not only do they produce a natural orange colour they also do a natural black version too.
As a vegan I have to say I can describe this as one the nicest pleasures I have experienced for a very long time especially served on a cracker with vegan cheese from the Isle of Bute, Scotland.
The seaweed caviar is available down-under which begs the question; as both Australia and New Zealand are surrounded entirely by ocean why aren't local innovators doing something to get into this emerging sustainable luxury market?
Another brand doing exceptionally well with their product is CaviArt available in selected stores internationally.
Cavi·Art® is made from seaweed too. They describe their product as the “roe” of the future. Produced in Denmark. Cavi·Art® is a combined range of plant-based alternatives to lumpfish roe, cod roe, trout roe and other types of roe
CaviArt is hot on sustainability :
' Overconsumption onshore and offshore destroys fish, sealife, and the whole marine ecosystem. At Cavi·art® we strive to contribute to a more intelligent, gentle, and sustainable utilization of marine resources. Instead of using fish roe but choosing our seaweed caviar, together we avoid consuming the next generation of fish and disrupting the marine ecosystem'.
But what of other developments in this sector?
Lab produced cellular caviar is already beginning to appear. Led by UK based Caviar Biotec whose parent operation has been farming sturgeon, retrieving eggs and killing the fish to create other products. However its founders are keen to support planetary sustainability and are moving their operation to a cellular production base.
'Scientists from London-based Caviar Biotec in conjunction with University College London have bioengineered cells from a fish’s egg sac into lab-grown caviar.
Ken Benning, the founder of Caviar Biotec, says aside from being a more sustainable option, the lab-grown caviar won’t cost as much as natural Beluga caviar. He said the lab-grown caviar is essentially the same as high-end natural caviar, it’s just grown differently,
“We have the exact same cell that turns into caviar and we are growing in a liquid instead of inside a fish. There are no antibiotics, no killing of fish. It's as simple as that.”
As the businessinsider reports ;' Being ethical is the new luxury' and we couldn't agree more.
CaviArt seems to be only available via the US for 2xpacks 100gm total NZ$39 plus postage. Interestingly enough it is also available on Amazon
Unfortunately at the time of writing we have not been able to find pricing on the Biotec lab grown caviar eggs. We've reached out and will update when/if a response is received.
Here's to sustainability. A small step by humankind is a giant step for planet Earth.
ENDS:
Yes, here's to sustainability and here, especially, is to preventing gratuitous cruelty (i.e., animal abuse) to fishes!