— aka Danny Weird — has always embraced what makes him different. What started as a childhood nickname became a creative identity, leading him to a decade-long career as a DJ and producer performing across the West Coast.
But behind the music was a personal battle. As an addict in recovery, Danny learned firsthand how addiction devastates lives and how many do not have the financial support they need to fight this disease.
With over 15 years of experience working in agriculture, Danny also understood the uphill battle small farmers face from unpredictable weather to market instability and how difficult it is just to survive, let alone thrive.
That’s when the vision came together: build a business that does good on both ends. A company that not only donates a third of its net profits to addiction recovery programs, but also supports small farms by featuring their ingredients in every recipe.
While living in a sober living home, Danny began experimenting with bold, fruit-based hot sauces using ingredients from local farms. The feedback was instant. People loved it and his first sauce was even awarded the peoples choice award through a blind taste testing at the 2024 Hot Sauce Hootenanny. What started as a creative outlet quickly turned into a mission and and Step Up Sauces was born.
This is more than sauce.
It’s about second chances, community, and flavor that makes a difference.
We are committed to sourcing ingredients locally and organically whenever possible, in order to minimize our environmental impact and support regional agriculture.
Each small farm that supplies a locally sourced ingredient is proudly featured on our sauce labels.
Some of the farms we support include Hill Country Hot Peppers, Engel Farms, Yegua Creek Farms, HiFi Mycology, Luminaria Acres, Escuala Farms, & Simple Promise Farms.
Orders are processed and sent out at the beginning and end of the week. Leading up to Christmas, orders will be processed daily to ensure gifts are delivered on time to the best of our ability.
Step Up Sauces is a one man show—Your patience is appreciated!
Please allow up to 3 business days for your order to process. Tracking numbers will be emailed upon fulfillment. Leading up to Christmas, orders will be processed daily to ensure gifts are delivered on time to the best of our ability.
If you have any issues, please reach out to us directly here.
To ensure your order arrives on time for the holidays, please place your order before December 18th. Orders placed later may not arrive in time.
Our sauces are shelf stable until opened, but due to using fresh ingredients they should be refrigerated after opening. Sauces last for 4 or more months in the fridge but flavors may begin slightly degrading after a month or two.
Flavor is always the priority with every sauce. As a result, my 1-10 heat scale is relatively conservative. My hottest sauce (Ego Death rated a 10) DEFINITELY has a kick and is not for the spice sensitive… but would still be relatively mid to semi high range heat compared to what else is available on the market.
All primary ingredients are always organic and sourced locally from small farms in the Austin, TX area. Secondary ingredients are ALMOST always organic whenever possible.
All sauces are gluten-free. All are vegan except Umami Tsunami, and all are keto-friendly except the Weird Sauces and Ego Death.
We do not use any artificial preservatives! The only preservative we use is all natural—a thickening agent called “Bob’s Red Mill Xanthan Gum” which is soy derived and dairy/gluten free. Besides that all products are preserved naturally through the use of vinegar and fresh squeezed citrus juice to achieve an acidic enough PH for shelf stability.
We regularly attend farmers markets in the Austin, TX area. Check our Instagram page to find us locally!
One third of profits for addiction recovery go towards sober living scholarships towards local sober living houses in the Austin area to help addicts in need get a fresh start on life.
Check the labels on our sauces for more details on where we source our ingredients.
You can learn all about each flavor on their individual product pages. If you have any other questions, please get in touch!
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