Caviar is making its way to desi dinners and shop shelves as India develops a taste for the exotic

Time of India

14 hours ago

On a recent afternoon in Mumbai, shoppers at Food Square's Worli gourmet store paused to inspect the contents of a glass counter. There were tins of French caviar—sleek, chilled and ready to be scooped onto warm blinis or canapés.
Not many moons ago, these translucent pearls of roe were not found in neighbourhood stores. They were confined to billionaires' banquets or the hush of first-class cabins. But now caviar—saltcured fish eggs, traditionally from sturgeon—is quietly crossing into India's retail stores. Paris-based Kaviari has landed in
India
with 30 gram-jars.
Meanwhile, Bengaluru-based
Caviar India
promises two-day delivery across metros while Catch of Norway, also from the same city, claims it can drop fresh tins at a doorstep in Kerala or Karnataka by sundown. A 30 g jar of royal beluga caviar, the finest, costs over ₹20,000.
As global luxury recalibrates to make space for the aspirational Indian consumer, caviar has become both a culinary curiosity and a discreet social flex. Demand has grown enough to spark exclusive import tie-ups, B2B partnerships with fine-dining restaurants and pop-up tasting events.
'The demand has remained robust, with a strong growth potential,' says Lalit Jhawar, cofounder and CEO of Food Square, the gourmet grocery store based in Mumbai. 'Our audience keeps expanding—culinary enthusiasts, chefs and individuals seeking a luxurious lifestyle.'
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FLYING FISH
If there's one reason caviar is turning up on Indian dining tables and Instagram feeds, it's because importers and retailers have learned to package the old-world delicacy as accessible luxury. Instead of 250-gram tins reserved for private clubs, today's consumers can buy 10or 30-gram jars—just enough for a special dinner or a house party. 'We are seeing a growing demand for smaller tins,' says Jhawar. 'Customers want to indulge without the commitment of large quantities.'
At Food Square, which began selling caviar soon after its launch in late 2023, smaller pack sizes and reliable cold chain logistics have been crucial. Rugved
Vartak
, category head at Food Square, says, 'In the past, caviar would arrive grainy or mushy because the cold chain was compromised. Now, we fly in new batches every fortnight and check every shipment.'
The store lists Kaviari's 30-gram tins for around ₹8,000. They also stock mother-ofpearl spoons that are traditionally used to scoop caviar instead of steel or silver cutlery that could leave a metallic aftertaste. Vartak adds, 'We also work closely with chefs like Varun Totlani (Masque and Paradox), Hussain Shahzad (Papa's Cafe), Prateek Sadhu (
Naar
) and Will Aghajanian (Table), so the product reaches diners in some of the most creative formats.'
Restaurants have played their part in familiarising diners with caviar. At Paradox in Mumbai, Totlani serves caviar in many ways: with warm cheese bread and herb dip, or in a cocktail called Cheap Date laced with caviar, or as 'caviar bump' where the roe is dolloped on the back of a guest's hand. Says Totlani, 'A lot of our guests are world travellers, so they have tried caviar before. But even those ordering it for a lark love it. Our tins are flying off the shelves.'
Diners are increasingly curious about provenance and grade, asking chefs whether the tin contains the roe of beluga, ossetra or sevruga. 'People ask me which caviar I have,' says Manu Chandra, founder-partner,
Manu Chandra Enterprises
, which runs, among others, the Bengalurubased restaurant Lupa and the bespoke catering service Single Thread. 'They know that ossetra is high-grade and that provenance matters.'
Vartak says his regular clients host caviar parties, sometimes pairing it with champagne.
WALKING ON EGGSHELLS
While there is demand, importing caviar into India is neither simple nor cheap. Every batch must carry paperwork from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) to prove the
sturgeon
wasn't poached, a step that has grown stricter as the Caspian Sea populations dwindle. Wild beluga sturgeon is now classified as critically endangered. Most caviar sold in India comes from farmed stocks in Europe or China, where large aquaculture facilities have ramped up production. Strict cold-chain requirements to maintain texture and import duties can swell prices by up to 50%. 'The biggest challenge is ensuring the supply chain stays intact,' says Vartak. 'Even minor temperature fluctuations can ruin a tin.' Improvements in cold chain facilities have made premium brands more confident about entering the Indian market.
However, ethical questions remain. According to animal welfare organisation Beauty Without Cruelty, production of caviar almost always involves killing the fish.
Large aquaculture facilities that supply most of the world's caviar are trying to allay these fears. They promise traceability and less impact on wild stocks with controlled breeding tanks and highlight sustainability certifications on tins, noting details such as farm of origin, ethical harvesting practices and traditional malossol (low-salt, preservative-free) curing. Importers say these labels have become a selling point for discerning buyers. Even farmed caviar is highly regulated, tightly rationed and eternally expensive—a reason why caviar cannot truly be a massmarket luxury.
MAKE IN INDIA?
If importing caviar is complicated, producing it domestically is even more improbable—at least for now. Yet the idea persists in India's culinary circles: what if the country could someday farm its own sturgeon and sidestep the costs and uncertainties of global supply chains? Globally, aquaculture is the only scalable way to produce caviar without driving wild sturgeon to extinction. China has sprawling tank farms while French and Italian producers have invested heavily in recirculating aquaculture systems.
In India, this possibility has flickered to life in policy discussions. The
National Fisheries Development Board
has funded feasibility studies and pilot projects on sturgeon farming. Jhawar believes the model is technically viable: 'Globally, the caviar industry is embracing recirculating aquaculture systems, and that approach could work here too.'
But the reality is different. Sturgeon are slow to mature, often taking 7 to 14 years before they yield roe suitable for harvesting. They require cold, clean, spring-like water conditions—far from typical Indian aquaculture environments. Regulatory hurdles are steep, with strict controls on importing live sturgeon or fertilised eggs for breeding.
Even as caviar becomes more visible, it remains among the most expensive delicacies in India's food ecosystem. Chandra, who occasionally serves ossetra roe by the tin, describes caviar as a costprohibitive, perishable indulgence that few diners request more than once: 'It's still a high-luxury product, and prices have never really rationalised in India.'