Frequent Questions

Questions and Answers

Everything you ever wanted to know about Paulman Acre (but were afraid to ask). If your question is not addressed here, please get in touch and let us know.

The Sauce:

Q: Who creates the recipes for your sauces?
A: All of the Paulman Acre recipes were created by Founder and Director of Sauceology Tim Paulman. He is a bit of a mad scientist in the kitchen and is not afraid to improvise on a theme until things are “just exactly perfect”. Some of the recipes have gone through half-a-dozen prototypes before being brought to market.

Q: How do you come up with the name of your sauces?
A: Sauce names are usually derived from an extended creative process involving a white board, a growler of beer and several heated arguments. The general framework involves a play-on-words involving old rock and/or outlaw country songs.

Q: What do you put in your sauces?
A: We use only whole ingredients in our products and source them from local suppliers wherever possible. We use real onions, garlic and peppers, for example — not onion powder, garlic powder and pepper extracts.

Q: Are your sauces organic / vegan / paleo / soy free / gluten free / baby seal friendly?
A:
 We strive to produce the highest quality products with the freshest ingredients that can be enjoyed by as many people as possible. With that in mind, we have not been certified by any third parties, but we do offer the following commitments to quality:

  • Organic: We use organic products from local producers wherever possible. We support the organic movement and use organic practices in our own gardens.
  • Paleo: This one has been a bit sticky for us. From our experience, there is no single source of truth when it comes to the definition of “Paleo”. We use whole fruits and veggies, vinegars, water and various dried spices. For sweeteners, we use agave nectar or molasses — not refined sugar or honey. From our perspective, this makes us “Paleo Friendly” at the very least.
  • Vegan: Unless explicitly stated on our labels, all of our products are vegan. We do not use any animal by-products in our manufacturing process including butter / milk / cheese / honey / lard / etc.
  • Soy Free: We do not use soy in our manufacturing process including bean sprouts / tofu / soy sauce / tempeh / mixed vegetable oils / etc.
  • Gluten Free: We strictly avoid gluten in our products including flour, emulsifiers, additive sauces / etc. We use a shared facility in which wheat is used but we have dedicated equipment, stringent sanitation practices and dedicated kitchen time to avoid cross contamination. We test all of our batches down to 10ppm using commercially available Gluten Test meters.
  • Baby Seals: No seals (baby or otherwise) were injured in the manufacturing of our products. We love Seal. Especially that “Kiss From a Rose” song. That’s our jam. BABY!

Q: Do your sauces require refrigeration?
A:
 Generally speaking, our sauces do not need to be refrigerated prior to opening. We are part of the California State Cannery Program and all of our shelf-stable products are inspected by the California Food and Drug Board. Once opened, it is best practice to refrigerate the bottle to extend freshness. (NOTE: If a sauce label explicitly contains the words “Perishable: Keep Refrigerated” they must be kept refrigerated prior to opening per California state guidelines.)

Business:

Q: Do you offer wholesale pricing?
A:
 Wholesale pricing is available to re-sellers in quantities from case to pallet. Product can be self-distributed within San Diego County (and some surrounding areas) or shipped anywhere in the continental US. Please contact us for details and requests.

Q: Can we feature your hot sauce in our restaurant / food trucks?
A:
 We have a number of options available for food establishments to use our sauce in back-of-house preparation, condiment stands and special events. Please contact us to discuss options and details.

Q: Can you create a unique sauce for my restaurant / food truck / wedding / special occasion?
A:
 Quite possibly! Let’s discuss the details and see if there’s an opportunity to work together!

Q: I am a hot sauce reviewer – can I review your sauces?
A:
 We wholeheartedly respect and support the community of hot sauce reviewers and make a small portion of each batch accessible to reviewers. Please get in touch to discuss further.

Shipping:

Q: Which shipping method do you use?
A: We ship using USPS Priority Flat Rate Shipping.

Q: Do you combine shipping?
A: Combined shipping is incorporated into the shopping cart process with shipping bands of 1-5 bottles, 6-10 bottle, 11-18 bottles and 19+ bottles.

Q: Do you ship outside the US?
A: We have shipped all over the world and are happy to do so provided the buyer knows in advance that international shipping is very, very expensive. This is especially true for heavy items like hot sauce. If the buyer is willing to pay actual cost, we are happy to ship anywhere in the world. Please use the contact form to arrange details.

Q: How quickly do you ship orders?
A: We strive to have all of our order shipped within 2-3 business days. Our web shipping process will automatically email tracking information when the shipping label has been printed.

Customer Service:

Q: What is your contact information?
A: Our mailing address is Paulman Acre, Inc. / PO Box 2581 / Carlsbad, CA 92018. Our phone number is 818-92-SAUCE. Our social media accounts are linked in the footer banner below. For email, please use the contact us form.

Q: I placed an order in error. Can I cancel my order?
A: If you find yourself in this situation, you can contact us and we will investigate. So long as your order has not yet shipped, we will be happy to cancel your order and refund any funds that have been collected.

Q: Do you offer returns and / or refunds?
A: If you are unhappy with your order, for any reason, from any re-seller, please get in touch. We stand behind our products and offer a full money-back guarantee (less shipping). Please be aware that refunds can take up to 30 days depending on the funding source.

Q: I called you two days ago and I haven’t gotten a response – what gives?
A: While we strive to respond in a timely manor to every single inquiry, question or concern, the reality is that we are a very small operation and it is not uncommon for an entire week to be completely consumed by “crunch mode”. This is especially true towards the end of our seasonal release cycles. If you have contacted us via the web form and called us at 818-92-SAUCE and DM’d us on Instagram/Facebook and we have not responded, please be patient. We *will* get back to you once we’ve gotten a chance to come up for air.