Live ferments need the cold.
Unlike shelf-stable vinegar pickles, our vegetables are raw and alive. The billions of cultures working inside every jar are active organisms — heat slows them, extreme heat kills them. This isn’t marketing language. It’s microbiology.
We ferment in Sacramento, pack to order, and ship via FedEx with enough refrigerant to keep your jar cold through transit. The goal is simple: the cultures that left our fermentation room are the same cultures that reach your fridge.
We ship products alive.
Vinegar pickles are dead. They use acetic acid to simulate fermentation — no bacteria, no cultures, no life. MyZUCCHINI products are fermented with nothing but vegetables, salt, and time. Every jar contains billions of active lactobacillus cultures that are still working when they leave our facility.
This is why cold chain matters. Shelf-stable products tolerate heat. Live-fermented products cannot. We treat every shipment the way you’d treat live tissue — because functionally, that’s what it is.
What’s inside every box.
Every shipment uses a corrugated outer box, an insulated liner, and gel ice packs scaled to your order size. Larger orders get thicker liners and more refrigerant.
| Order size | Outer box | Insulated liner | Gel packs (standard) | Gel packs (summer) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 jars | 9×6×8” single-wall | ClimaCell Small liner | 2 × 8 oz | 4 × 8 oz |
| 4 jars | 10×10×8” single-wall | ClimaCell Medium liner | 2 × 16 oz | 4 × 16 oz |
| 6 jars | 12×10×8” single-wall | 1” EPS insert | 2 × 16 oz + 2 × 8 oz | 4 × 16 oz |
| 12 jars | 14×12×14” double-wall | 1.5” EPS liner | 4 × 16 oz | 6 × 16 oz |
Every box also carries PERISHABLE and FRAGILE labels on two sides. 4-jar orders and above carry THIS SIDE UP labels.
We ship Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.
We don’t ship Thursday through Sunday. Packages that sit in a FedEx facility over a weekend lose too much cold. We’d rather delay a shipment 24 hours than send a warm jar.
Order cut-off: Orders placed before 10 AM Pacific are packed same day (Mon–Wed). Orders placed after 10 AM ship the next available ship day.
Orders placed Thursday–Sunday ship the following Monday unless your ZIP code qualifies for Thursday dispatch (California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington).
When will it arrive?
Delivery time depends on your distance from Sacramento. All orders ship via FedEx. Service level is selected by us based on your destination and the season.
| Destination | States | Spring / Fall | Summer (Jun 1–Sep 15) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zone 1–2 | CA, NV, OR, WA | FedEx Home Delivery (1–3 days) | FedEx Home Delivery (1–3 days) |
| Zone 3–4 | AZ, ID, UT, CO, MT, NM, WY | FedEx Home Delivery (2–4 days) | FedEx 2-Day |
| Zone 5 | TX, KS, NE, SD, MN, WI, IA | FedEx Home Delivery (3–5 days) | FedEx 2-Day |
| Zone 6–7 | Southeast, Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, NY, NJ | FedEx 2-Day | FedEx 2-Day |
| Zone 8 | New England, DE, MD, DC | FedEx 2-Day | FedEx 2-Day |
| AK / HI | Alaska, Hawaii | FedEx 2-Day always | FedEx 2-Day always |
FedEx 2-Day transit cost is included in your shipping charge. We absorb the upgrade during summer months.
Your jar may arrive cool, room temperature, or slightly warm. It’s still safe.
This is our most common customer question. Live fermented vegetables do not “go bad” during a few hours of transit warmth the way raw meat or dairy would. The salt brine and lactic acid produced during fermentation are natural preservatives — powerful ones.
June 1 – September 15: extra cold.
Summer means higher ambient temperatures inside FedEx vehicles and distribution centers. We respond with two changes: doubled gel packs in every box, and mandatory 2-Day service to any zone where transit time exceeds two days.
Gel packs doubled on every order size. Zones 3–7 upgraded to FedEx 2-Day at no extra charge. We monitor daily high temperatures along major FedEx routes — if a heat event is forecast for your corridor we will contact you before shipping to confirm or delay.
What to do when your order arrives.
- Open the box immediately. Do not leave a cold shipment on a doorstep in warm weather.
- Check the gel packs. Still fully frozen: perfect. Partially thawed but jar is cold to the touch: perfectly fine. Fully thawed and jar is warm: take a photo and contact us before opening.
- Transfer jars to the refrigerator. Store at 34–40°F. Do not freeze.
- Wait 24 hours before opening. The cultures went dormant during transit. Give them time to reactivate in the cold.
- Open, taste, listen. A healthy live-ferment jar will hiss slightly when opened — that’s CO₂ from active cultures. The brine should smell tangy and clean, never rotten.
- Consume within 3 months. Once opened, use within 30 days. The brine keeps the vegetables submerged and the cultures alive.
Refrigerate after arrival.
Four steps from doorstep to properly stored jar. The whole process takes under two minutes.
Small-batch fermented in Sacramento, California.
Every jar of MyZUCCHINI is fermented in our Sacramento facility. We source produce locally when in season, ferment in small batches sized for quality control, and pack every order ourselves — no third-party fulfillment, no warehouse middleman.
Small-batch isn’t a marketing word for us. It means one person is responsible for every batch: they trim the vegetables, pack the jars, monitor the ferment, and sign off on the product. That accountability is what industrial brands cannot replicate.
If it arrives wrong,
we make it right.
If your order arrives warm, damaged, or not up to our standard, we will replace it or refund it in full — no forms, no questions, no return shipping required.
Take a photo of the jar and packaging and send it to hello@myzucchini.com. We respond within one business day and ship a replacement on the next available ship day.
GUARANTEED
full refund