Tsar Nicoulai and Sterling Caviar: Two Brands, Shared Ownership

Tsar Nicoulai and Sterling Caviar are California caviar brands brought under the Bolourchi family's shared management and ownership in 2024, according to the companies. Sterling announced its acquisition by Tsar Nicoulai on 18 December 2024; their shared ownership does not, by itself, identify the farm or processing site behind a particular tin.

The two brands at a glance

Ownership, addresses and register entries checked in November 2026. A register entry identifies the listed operation, not necessarily the current legal owner of the brand.

Who owns Tsar Nicoulai and Sterling Caviar?

The commercial connection is clear: Sterling's announcement presents Tsar Nicoulai as the acquirer and identifies the Bolourchi family as the people behind the combined business. It also says that the family took over Tsar Nicoulai's farm and business in 2014, a history independently described by UC Davis.

The corporate detail is less complete. Tsar Nicoulai's privacy policy, updated on 8 July 2026, names Pacific Plaza Imports Inc. at the Concord address, while the CITES register retains a separate Tsar Nicoulai Caviar LLC entry at a San Francisco address. The privacy policy names a contact company, while the CITES register lists separately named caviar operations.

For Sterling's Elverta operation, a California Water Board order adopted on 13 December 2024 is more specific. It changes the recorded owner and operator from Hyde Caviar LLC doing business as Sterling Caviar to American Sturgeon Farms, at the Concord address. This is evidence of a facility ownership change, not a complete acquisition agreement or proof of a parent/subsidiary structure.

The transaction and its dates

Two dates appear in Sterling's own account. Its About page says the businesses merged in September 2024, whereas its acquisition announcement is dated 18 December 2024. The Water Board order confirms that an ownership change had entered the regulatory record by 13 December, but does not supply the transaction's legal completion date.

The earlier ownership chain is better documented. Transaction adviser Antarctica Advisors announced on 5 November 2020 that Stolt Sea Farm Investments BV had sold Sterling Caviar LLC to affiliates of Hyde Road Agricultural Associates LLC. For the 2024 change, the sound distinction is between the company's announced acquisition and the particular facility transfer recorded by California, rather than treating every named entity as interchangeable.

Separate histories, not competing founding claims

Tsar Nicoulai dates its founding to 1984, when Mats and Daphne Engstrom established the business in San Francisco. Sterling's story has several starting points: its company history describes Stolt Sea Farm beginning sturgeon production in Wilton in 1983, Sierra Aquafarms starting in Elverta in 1985, a commercial farming milestone in 1988 and adoption of the Sterling Caviar name in 2006.

These dates describe different things: predecessor farms, commercial development and a trading name. Sterling attributes the first commercial quantities of tank-raised caviar to its farms in 1993; UC Davis instead places the beginning of US caviar production in 1994. The priority claim therefore belongs to Sterling's stated history, not to an independently settled finding in this profile.

Where the sturgeon are farmed and processed

UC Davis documented Tsar Nicoulai's Wilton farm and hatchery in May 2025, including photographs of newly hatched fish and growing sturgeon. The university also identifies Concord and Dixon as other business locations, without assigning every production stage to them.

Sterling's published farm history names Elverta, Wilton, Elk Grove and Ione. Elverta is also supported by the Water Board ownership record and the CITES processing/repackaging entry at 9149 East Levee Road.

Both histories mention Wilton, but a shared town name does not demonstrate a shared property. Nor does combined ownership demonstrate that fish, roe or finished caviar move between every site. A brand name alone does not identify a tin's farm of origin; the CITES register identifies registered operations.

What each is known for

Tsar Nicoulai is associated with California white sturgeon farming and aquaponics, the combination of fish production and plant cultivation using nutrients from the fish system. UC Davis reported on its Wilton aquaponics work in 2018. That documents a particular farming approach; it is not a blanket sustainability assessment of every product bearing the brand.

Sterling is associated with the development of California's tank-raised white sturgeon industry and its long-running farm network. Its historical association with Stolt Sea Farm is supported by the 2020 sale announcement. Neither that heritage nor Tsar Nicoulai's farming programme provides a reason to rank the brands without looking at the actual species, lot and handling.

Species, sourced roe and trade names

The species behind the California farming described here is white sturgeon, Acipenser transmontanus. For the fish rather than the companies, see white sturgeon caviar. Trade names alone do not establish the species or demonstrate equivalence between the brands.

Tsar Nicoulai does not describe an exclusively California-produced assortment. Its Baerii listing identifies Greek production, and Costco's accompanying supplier description names the partner as Thesauri in Greece and the fish as Siberian sturgeon, Acipenser baerii. That documents sourcing beyond its own California white sturgeon production, rather than another species necessarily being raised at Wilton.

There is a specific verification problem with that Baerii webpage: its introduction names Acipenser baerii, but its origin field names Acipenser gueldenstaedtii. For that product, check the species against the actual container and lot.

What the public registrations and labels establish

The CITES US register lists Sterling Caviar LLC under STCA and Tsar Nicoulai Caviar LLC under TNMO, both marked as exporters and processing/repackaging operations. Pacific Plaza Imports appears separately under PLAZ, marked for processing/repackaging but not as an exporter. The register combines processing and repackaging in one column, so that column alone does not distinguish the two activities.

A traceability label is documentary evidence, not an independent test of the contents.

These entries are not a substitute for checking current USFWS wildlife import/export licences or state aquaculture registrations. The distinction matters because a plant listing, a business registration and permission for a particular international shipment answer different questions.

For a practical comparison, ask for the scientific species name, country where the fish were farmed, harvesting or processing establishment and lot identification. Compare those details with the named company on the container, rather than reading a Concord or Elverta address as the roe's origin. The CITES labelling system distinguishes the country of origin from the processing or repackaging plant code. A traceability label is documentary evidence, not an independent test of the contents.

Consult the producer register guide for verification and US caviar rules for the separate wildlife-trade and food-labelling questions; registration is distinct from food labelling compliance and permission for individual international shipments.

Where to go next

• Caviar Houses and Producers: place farm ownership, sourcing and repacking in the wider producer picture.
• American Caviar: California and the Pacific Northwest: follow the regional farming history beyond these two brands.