Kaviar

What Kaviar does

Kaviar (주식회사 캐비아) is a Korean direct-to-consumer e-commerce company that operates a curated frozen gourmet food marketplace at kaviar.co.kr, founded around 2020 and headquartered in Seoul Gangnam-gu. The platform aggregates and sells premium frozen Korean and pan-Asian dishes produced by a roster of named chefs (Choi Ji-hyung, Bae Jae-hoon, Nam Jun-young, Kim Do-yoon, Kouji, Nishimura) and well-known restaurant brands (Samwon Garden, Leesook, Manuteras, Hannam Sogwan, Ppyeodagujip, Dino's New York Pizza), organized into categories covering soups/stews/hot pots, meats, noodles/dumplings, main dishes, porridge/soups, snacks/appetizers, and premium gift sets. Kaviar has also extended into private-label daily meal products under the 'Kaviar Daily' (캐비아데일리) sub-brand and a broader online-mall identity under 'Kaviar Mall' (캐비아몰).

The business model is single-channel, B2C unit-based retail with no subscription tier disclosed. Products are priced individually from approximately 2,800 KRW to 159,000 KRW, with free shipping over 50,000 KRW and a 4,000 KRW standard fee below that threshold. Orders are fulfilled frozen from a dedicated warehouse in Anseong, Gyeonggi-do, and shipped nationwide via Lotte Express. Marketing is executed through owned content channels (Instagram, YouTube, Naver Blog, email newsletter) and on-site community features (e.g., the 'Metizen' board). The company is privately held under Representative Director Park Young-sik and raised a $12.1M Series A in December 2022 from a strategic-investor syndicate including GS Retail, Woori Bank, Stonebridge Capital, TK Investments, and Danal Co Ltd.

Name

Kaviar

Legal name

주식회사 캐비아

Website

https://kaviar.co.kr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Kaviar is a Korean D2C e-commerce platform that curates and delivers premium frozen gourmet foods from named chefs and well-known restaurant brands directly to Korean consumers via its online storefront and Lotte Express cold-chain delivery.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online Premium Frozen Food Marketplace

NAICS

Other Specialty Food Retailers (44529)

SIC

Canned, Frozen & Preservd Fruit, Veg & Food Specialties (2030)

akta.pro primary industry

Frozen prepared meals & entrées manufacturing (AFAKAHAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Frozen Ethnic & International Meals (CRADADAE), Wholesale-to-Business Online Ordering (B2B Food E-Commerce) (AFAIAMAD)

Keywords

• Frozen gourmet foods
• Chef curated meals
• Restaurant meal replacement
• Premium food marketplace
• Korean gourmet delivery

Headquarters

HQ city

Seoul

HQ country

South Korea

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Direct Product Sales: E-commerce retail model where customers purchase frozen gourmet food products directly through the kaviar.co.kr platform. Products are shipped to customers via Lotte Express. One-time purchase model with no subscription mentioned.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Kaviar is a Korean gourmet food curation e-commerce platform (미식 큐레이션 플랫폼) that aggregates premium frozen ready-to-eat meals from famous Korean restaurants, named chefs, and partner food brands. Products span soups/stews, meats, noodles/dumplings, main dishes, porridge/soups, snacks/appetizers, and premium gift sets, and are shipped frozen via Lotte Express directly to individual consumers' homes across South Korea. The platform combines third-party partner products with its own private-label brand, 캐비아데일리 (Kaviar Daily).

Product overview

Kaviar is a curated gourmet food e-commerce platform (미식 큐레이션 플랫폼) that operates as a marketplace connecting consumers with premium frozen food products from various partner brands and individual chefs. The platform offers a diverse portfolio organized into categories including 국/탕/전골 (soups/stews/hot pots), 육류 (meats), 면/만두 (noodles/dumplings), 메인요리 (main dishes), 죽/스프 (porridge/soups), 간식/안주류 (snacks/appetizers), and 선물세트 (gift sets). Products come from partner brands like 삼원가든, 캐비아데일리, 능라도, 선셋스위밍, and chef-branded offerings from named culinary professionals. The platform features both private-label products under the Kaviar Daily (캐비아데일리) brand and third-party partner products, all sold through frozen/cold storage delivery with Lotte Express.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 캐비아데일리: Private label brand for daily food items
• 캐비아몰

Products and services

• Kaviar Gourmet Curation Platform (미식 큐레이션 플랫폼) Curated gourmet e-commerce platform that aggregates premium frozen food products from partner brands and named Korean chefs, organized into categories including soups/stews, meats, noodles/dumplings, main dishes, porridge/soups, snacks/appetizers, and gift sets. Sold direct-to-consumer via the kaviar.co.kr storefront with frozen delivery via Lotte Express throughout South Korea.
• Kaviar Daily (캐비아데일리)
• Gift Sets (선물세트) Premium gift set packages featuring curated food items, including the 삼원가든 전통양념갈비 선물세트 (traditional seasoned galbi gift set with 4 packs plus gift packaging) priced at 159,000 KRW. Targeted at gifting occasions and positioned as the platform's premium offering.
• Kaviar Mall (캐비아몰) Sub-brand that operates as an online shopping mall channel within the kaviar.co.kr platform, providing a branded storefront for browsing and purchasing curated products.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Market Kurly (마켓컬리 / Kurly): Korea's leading premium online grocery with a large frozen and chef-quality prepared food assortment. Most directly comparable to Kaviar in being a curated, premium-positioned DTC frozen food platform serving Korean consumers.
• Cookit (CJ CheilJedang): CJ CheilJedang's chef-prepared meal kit and ready-to-eat service. Closely comparable to Kaviar as a chef-curated prepared food brand targeting Korean consumers seeking premium home dining experiences.
• Oasis Market (오아시스마켓): Premium online grocery operator with strong curated assortment and nationwide cold-chain delivery. Directly comparable to Kaviar in targeting affluent Korean consumers with specialty and frozen food offerings.

Broad incumbents

• SSG.com: Shinsegae's omnichannel grocery and fresh-food delivery platform. Competes with Kaviar in premium online grocery and gift-set delivery, but operates across a much broader assortment and brand portfolio.
• GS Retail (GS25 / GS Fresh): Owns GS25 convenience chain and grocery operations; also an investor in Kaviar. Comparable as a major Korean retail and fresh-food distribution incumbent with overlapping premium convenience positioning.
• Lotte Mart / Lotte Home Shopping: Large Korean retailer and home shopping channel with significant premium frozen and gift-set food sales, including through Lotte Express (Kaviar's own delivery partner). Adjacent incumbent competing for similar gifting and premium grocery occasions.

Emerging players

• The Born Korea (더본코리아): Operates premium Korean food brands and meal kits including chef-driven product lines. Comparable to Kaviar in leveraging well-known chef/restaurant brands into retail packaged food products.
• Coupang Eats: Quick-commerce food delivery platform owned by Coupang. Adjacent competitor for at-home prepared meals, though transactional rather than curated-frozen like Kaviar.
• Baemin (배달의민족 / Woowa Brothers): Korea's largest food delivery app. Competes with Kaviar for the 'restaurant food at home' use case, but via fresh delivery rather than frozen chef-curated SKUs.
• Yogiyo (요기요): Major Korean food delivery platform under Delivery Hero. Adjacent peer competing for at-home meal occasions in Korea.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCdjiFygX13EDkMQhCZQuy0w
• Instagraminstagram.com/kaviar_official/?igshid=543mvtlpql9k

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors5 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Kaviar