about us
The Story Of Our Secret Family Sauce
Kia Ora!
Welcome! We are the Cullum family. We are glad you are here and so excited to share our story with you.
Established in 2023, Secret Sauce Co NZ is a locally owned small business here in Palmerston North. We do one thing and we do it really well - pasta sauce. Jackie Cullum, the founder, grew up in a traditional Italian-American household in the United States, where pasta night was a cherished family custom. Her Italian heritage was passed down to her, including the secret recipe for her family's sauce and meatballs.
Growing up, her dad would make the sauce only on special occasions, and it was a day-long process filled with fragrances from the sauce making process and the best jazz music. Her family would always invite extended family and friends to enjoy the sauce and it quickly became a local legend. To date, anyone who has tried it just can't get enough of it and they remember it years later.
After years of sharing the sauce with family and friends, Jackie decided it was time to offer this unique culinary experience to the world – Secret Sauce Co NZ was born. The company started with the ambition to recreate the joyous, aromatic, and communal atmosphere of her childhood pasta nights for families everywhere.
Her vision for Secret Sauce Co NZ is as the brand grows, more secret family sauces will be introduced. Our secret recipe sauce collection will be small, but impactful and like no other. After decades of sharing our sauce with family and friends, we are finally able to share it with you and yours - and for that, we are so excited!
Our Mission to Feed
Our mission is to serve our community, Aotearoa, and the world, the most authentic and delectable sauces we can make. Our goal is to recreate the joyous, aromatic, and communal atmosphere of pasta night for families everywhere. We strive to transform pasta sauce from a convenience item into a gourmet experience, fostering cherished family traditions and moments of togetherness.
In addition to our commercial operations, Secret Sauce Co NZ brings with us the Italian belief of community being an extension of family. Growing up, Jackie vividly remembers her dad using the family’s sauce to reach and feed people. They lived near Red Cross homeless shelters, and her dad would regularly invite the residents of those houses into their family home for spaghetti dinner. Jackie started Secret Sauce Co NZ so she could do the same - make sauce to reach and feed people.
We have developed a key partnership with Legacy in Palmerston North, and work alongside them to provide food to those within our local community who are living without. We regularly donate a portion of our profits to Just Hope, which is Legacy’s free meal programme. It currently takes place in three locations: Palmerston North, Levin, and Whanganui. To see the most up-to-date programme details, click HERE. Feel free to reach out to Legacy with any questions.
Even more exciting - we plan to host spaghetti dinners at Just Hope! If you want to try our sauce for free, this is your opportunity! We will announce our Just Hope pasta nights via email, so make sure to subscribe to be in the loop.
Our Passion and Process
We are passionate about culture and traditions, which is why making this sauce is so special to us. It keeps our Italian heritage alive and you get to join in on the experience.
For us, it's all about quality. We source quality ingredients from local, hand-selected suppliers. Everything is done in-house and each batch is homemade by Jackie herself, using the same methods passed down to her from her father. Our small, specialty batches cook all day to thoroughly infuse our sauce’s rich, authentic flavours.
For decades, we have served our sauce on special occasions to family and friends. We realised that our sauce is just too good to keep to ourselves, and in the spirit of sharing we have opened up shop and are finally serving our sauce to you, too!
It's our secret family recipe and we hope you enjoy it as much as we do.