Company debuts $1M caviar line

SARASOTA — Healthy Earth, a sustainable food company that bought a Siberian sturgeon and caviar operation from Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota late last year, recently debuted a new line of the delicacy.

The line is Black Opal caviar, according to a statement. More than $1 million worth of the product has been produced for the initial marketing effort, the release adds. The small-grain caviar — handcrafted with a briny sweetness that comes partly from the curing process — is available in several amounts, from one-ounce jars to one-kilo tins.

“We have plenty of caviar on the shelves, ready to go,” Healthy Earth CEO Christopher Cogan says in the release. “We've produced nearly 1,000 kilos of Black Opal caviar in anticipation of this initial marketing effort. Our team of experts at Mote Aquaculture Park continues to harvest the largest, best-quality caviar they have ever produced.”

The first black caviar to be marketed under the Black Opal brand is Black Opal Platinum Reserve. It's the brand's highest quality grade, and represents less than 20% of the company's total caviar production. It sells for $95 an ounce. A smaller version of Black Opal, the release states, will sell for $76 an ounce.

Sarasota-based Healthy Earth, under venture capital firm Seven Holdings, embarked on a $25 million capital raise in July.