Female-founded artisan caviar brand Volzhenka is shaking up the industry— and the status quo—with its values-driven approach.
The caviar industry is a man’s world; at least it was until Ekaterina Bataeva took her hammer to its glass ceiling. As founder of artisan brand Volzhenka, Bataeva faced an uphill struggle to break new ground, especially after entering the industry at just 22 years old. But the products spoke for themselves, and quickly gained a global clientele.
Volzhenka is named after the local women who once inhabited the banks of the Volga River which feeds the Caspian Sea—home of the beluga sturgeon. The brand’s values reflect the company’s female leadership, one which is rooted in a family heritage of caviar appreciation and tradition, and driven by a new generation of connoisseurs.
Founded in 2017, Volzhenka aims to transform the world’s perception of caviar. It treats production with the same care and attention found in other artisanal epicurean crafts. “We’re committed to our caviar as a winemaker is to expressing terroir,” says Bataeva.
The premium commodity is produced using a farm-to-table approach at a family fishery that has been cultivating the finest caviar for more than half a century. The farm draws on its heritage by using sustainable practices that have been developed through decades of research by the founding family.
“I grew up in this environment. My grandfather worked in the caviar and fishing industry in the ’70s and ’80s, then it was my uncle’s turn. My cousin and I are the third generation,” says Bataeva. “The caviar that we produce on our European farms, in Italy and Greece, has a completely different flavour from those that can be found on the market. It tastes like my childhood, what we call ‘Caspian caviar’.”
“We have been in this business for over 50 years and we have our own secret recipes,” she adds. “The natural conditions that fish are exposed to, for example, have a real impact on taste.”
Volzhenka currently produces four varieties of caviar from four types of sturgeon. These include the telluric Siberian Sturgeon; the buttery and nutty Oscietra; the bold and oceanic Sevruga; and the rich and creamy Beluga. Siberian and Oscietra caviar are also available in mild and intense versions.
All of the sturgeon are pure-bred in natural spring water using time-honoured traditions and subtle salting techniques inherited from several centuries of experience. The process is natural and free of chemicals to ensure the taste is as close as possible to that of wild caviar.
“We prefer to let the taste of the product enhance itself rather than adding a lot of salt, and in the process drowning out the true flavour of the different breeds of sturgeon,” says Bataeva. “We make sure the sturgeons only eat natural foods that they would find in nature, and we buy fishes from local fishermen to feed them. This has a significant impact on product quality. The water must also be in its purest form: it is a natural source which directly feeds the ponds where the sturgeons are found. The temperature is the same all year round.”
These special conditions enable Volzhenka to constantly produce fresh caviar on demand, rather than three times a year like many other companies.
Sustainability is extremely important to Bataeva and is one of the values that drives the company. “We are producers and not distributors, allowing us to control the entire production chain from A to Z. We know where the fish comes from, what it eats and in what water it lives,” she says. Volzhenka also uses the “milking” method to remove eggs via incision and massage, rather than killing the sturgeon. “We are one of the very few companies in the world that can do this, because it is a very long process,” Bataeva says.
Presentation is also key. As such, Volzhenka caviar is presented in a glass jar with a silver lid that’s engraved with sturgeon motifs. The cute pots were designed by French-Moroccan artist Ramdane Touhami in the style of 19th-century Lalique glassware, and come with a luxurious mother of pearl spoon—just one example of the attention to detail that makes the female-led brand stand out.
Nowadays, milked caviar is produced on order and can be found in restaurants and hotels around the world, including Aman Resorts, and is available for purchase directly through Volzhenka’s website. In the future, Bataeva’s aim is to build a lifestyle brand around caviar which may include the introduction of features such as meeting spaces for clients. It’s a fresh way of thinking that stems from several years of overcoming challenges, including battling the status quo.
“This industry is heavily dominated by men; it was very difficult to settle down,” says Bataeva. “Launching the brand at the age of 22 was particularly exciting, but it was also very difficult to prove to all these men that they could do business with me. But the life of an entrepreneur is full of ups and downs. ‘Never give up’ is probably the biggest lesson this whole business has taught me.”
