New Jersey has a caviar story. Most people just don't know it yet.

Before the town of Bayside was Bayside, the Cumberland County fishing village was known as Caviar, New Jersey. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, it was considered one of the caviar capitals of the world. Now, more than a century later, Kristen McGee is helping bring that history back in a very modern way.

Her new business, Caviar Carrier, delivers and serves locally farmed New Jersey caviar for private events, gatherings, tastings, and customers looking for something rare, fresh, and completely unexpected.

The idea started simply.

“I was in the shower craving caviar and the idea came to me,” Kristen said. “I hopped out and wrote it on an old birthday card.” (Happy birthday to Cape May County!)

From there, Caviar Carrier became a business built around one clear realization: real caviar was not easy to find locally.

Kristen saw plenty of commercial products being passed off as caviar, but very little access to true sturgeon caviar from a local source. Caviar Carrier works with a sturgeon farm in Swedesboro, New Jersey, where the product is freshly packed for demand, lightly salted, kept cold, and delivered or shipped with care.

For Kristen, the local aspect is not just a nice detail. It’s the entire point.

“This product is local and Jersey fresh,” she said. “Even though caviar is considered a delicacy, this product is accessible to the surrounding area.”

That accessibility is a major part of the Caviar Carrier experience. Caviar can feel formal, unfamiliar, or reserved for a certain kind of event, but Kristen is taking away that intimidation factor. Her goal is to make people feel comfortable tasting it, asking questions, learning where it comes from, and understanding why fresh caviar has a flavor and texture all its own.

At its heart, Caviar Carrier is about great taste, local sourcing, and a more thoughtful way to enjoy a delicacy. Kristen personally gets the caviar from Swedesboro and either delivers it locally or ships it to customers. Guests can also visit the farm, see the sturgeon, and purchase caviar on site.

Currently, there are only five sturgeon farms in the United States, and the Swedesboro farm is the only one in the Northeast. The closest caviar farm to New Jersey is in South Carolina, which means most caviar available in the United States is imported and has traveled a long distance before it reaches our table.

Kristen’s product is different because it is local, farm-to-table caviar. It is freshly packed based on demand, lightly salted, and kept consistently cold at 33 degrees. Kristen also notes that, unlike many imported products, the caviar is not coated in chemicals or preservatives. It is shipped in environmentally sustainable containers and handled with a focus on freshness from the farm to the customer.

The farm-to-table piece also shapes the way the sturgeon are raised. The fish were originally imported from Germany, along with their food. Since then, new breeds have been introduced, and the sturgeon are raised with fresh water from the Kirkwood-Cohansey Aquifer on the eight-acre farm in Swedesboro.

For Kristen, sustainability is not just a tagline. Sustainability is tied directly to the way the farm operates. 

Sturgeon can live up to 100 years, and the farm is in no rush to harvest them. They are harvested only on demand, the process is guided by patience, longevity, and respect for the wildlife.  

“The sturgeon have been raised for eight years without any caviar harvest because it takes them that long to produce eggs,” Kristen said. “We genuinely care about these animals and their longevity.”

The caviar is packaged locally in specially designed tins from France, made to help keep the eggs fresh and protected from UV light. That careful handling, combined with local sourcing and cold storage, helps preserve the flavor Kristen wants people to experience: fresh, clean, lightly salted, and very different from caviar that has traveled overseas before being served.

Caviar Carrier offers several varieties, including Ossetra, Sevruga, Siberian, Royal Siberian, and custom-order albino caviar. Customers can order for delivery, shop online, visit the farm, or book Caviar Carrier for an event.

For events, the experience is polished without feeling stiff. A Caviar Carrier team member arrives with a variety of caviar paired with crème fraîche and blinis or crostini. Servers wear a custom caviar belt, allowing them to move through the event and hand-serve guests while answering questions along the way.

“It is all hand-served and each server is fully knowledgeable about the education behind the product,” Kristen said. “Not only is it luxurious, it is a true farm-to-table experience.”

That combination is what makes Caviar Carrier feel different. Guests are not just being served something high-end. They are learning where it came from, how it was raised, why freshness matters, and how approachable caviar can be when it is served in the right way.

Caviar Carrier packages are shaped by the type of event, guest count, duration, and location, with options for set packages, by-consumption service, and an unlimited package.

For anyone who has never tried local caviar before (author included), Kristen said the biggest surprise is the product itself. Fresh, lightly salted New Jersey caviar offers a very different experience than imported products.

Patrons are also encouraged to visit the Swedesboro farm for tours hosted by Kristen, where they can see the sturgeon up close. 

Caviar Carrier is not just adding something elevated to the local event scene. It is making caviar feel more approachable, more understandable, and far more Jersey than most people ever realized. With a focus on fresh flavor, thoughtful sourcing, sustainability, and a product grown right here in New Jersey, Kristen is reintroducing caviar in a way that feels personal, memorable, and completely unexpected.

To learn more, book an event, schedule delivery, or shop online, visit www.caviarcarriernj.com or follow along on Instagram at @caviarcarrier.