FAQ

SHIPPING

*All shipments to Canada is currently suspended.

Where do you ship to?

We currently ship all over the U.S. Unfortunately at this time, we do not ship to other countries.

Do you offer free shipping?

Absolutely! If your order total is $75 and more, your order qualifies for free shipping via UPS Ground. Also, if your order total is $50 and more, your order qualifies for $5 flat rate shipping via UPS Ground. Please note our free shipping and $5 flat rate shipping are only valid for continental United States and NOT valid for orders from Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, APO/FPO addresses or B2B customers.

Which carrier do you ship with?

We currently ship with UPS Ground.

Can you guarantee exact delivery date?

No, we can give you only the approximate delivery date. Sometimes weather conditions or shipping volumes on UPS can cause delays.

How long will my order take to arrive?

You can expect your order to be shipped by 2 business days from placing the order. From there it will take the carriers roughly 2-6 business days for all continental United States orders. Please note that business days are Monday-Friday and do not include federal holidays within the United States.

How to check the status of my order?

As soon as your order is placed, you’ll get a confirmation email with all the necessary information you will need. Upon shipping you will also receive a tracking number update as well. If you’d like to check further on your order, just email us and we’ll be happy to give you an update.

What if my order is damaged or missing?

Products are free of damage and breakage when your order is shipped from our warehouses. Although products are packaged very carefully, damages may occur in transit or products may not reach their final destination. Please report us at store@umami-insider.com within 48 hours of delivery if you receive a damaged or broken product, or if you have not received your order. Make sure to save all contents, including packaging, for UPS or USPS to investigate on any damaged order. If carrier is able to provide proof of scan, refunds or replacements will not be available. If you have any questions, please contact us directly.

BILLING & PAYMENT

What payment methods do you accept?

We accept major credit cards such as Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover. Also, we accept PayPal.

CANCELLATION / RETURN / REFUND

Can I change delivery address after placing an order?

If you tell us the new address before we ship your order, we accept the change without any fees. However, once the order is shipped, we cannot accept change of delivery address and no refund will be issued. So please make sure to confirm if your delivery address is correct when placing an order.

Can I cancel my order?

If you email us with a request to cancel your order before we ship your order, we will accept the cancellation without any fees. However, once the order is shipped, we cannot accept cancellation and no refund will be issued. So please make sure to confirm if your order is correct when placing an order.

Do you accept returns?

Your satisfaction is the most important thing to us. So if you are not satisfied with the products, just return to us in the same condition you received it in within 10 days of the sale date, and we’ll be more than happy to issue you a refund. Of course, this means unused. If you opened the package, it’s considered as used and we do not accept return nor issue you a refund. Please note, if you order more than one unit of the same product, we cannot accept return for the similar unopened units. Also, due to the nature of the products, we cannot accept return for perishable items. Before returning, just contact us at store@umami-insider.com and we’ll provide you with simple return instructions. For more details, please read our store policies.

How long does it take to issue me a refund?

Once we receive your return and confirm unopened, we’re usually pretty quick and process credits and returns within roughly 14 days of receipt.

GENENRAL QUESTIONS

What is Umami Insider Store?

Umami Insider Store is a Japanese specialty store, and everything sold here is fine Japanese foods we carefully selected and collected directly from each producer in Japan. To ensure both quality and authenticity for you, we have visited each producer in Japan to learn its craftsmanship and character. Thanks to the amazing relationship with each producer, we are privileged to introduce a high-quality, authentic and real Japanese food that each of our team member in the U.S. and Japan love and uses every day. This is the way we work.

Is all your food approved by the FDA to be safe for human consumption?

Absolutely! We do not and cannot sell foods that is not first inspected and deemed safe for human consumption by the FDA.

Do you have a physical store location?

No, we are an e-commerce store but we ship from our warehouse in Oakland, California.

Sweet and delicious

Such a nice taste of sweet and tangy. My daughter enjoys it straight from the bag as a snack.

If Sriracha and yuzu koshou had a baby, this sauce is probably it. there's a faint, pleasant fermented note (not unlike kimchi), accented by strong citrus notes. The spiciness is mellow and there's a good bit of salt in there. Great for marination for grilled pork and stir fries. Also has great synergy with lighter Asian soup/noodle/stew dishes. We've decided to retire our shichimitogarashi after receiving this. Really good buy

It's clearly made with the same milling process as regular matcha and so behaves the same way. Unless you're a matcha connoisseur, you probably can't tell this isn't matcha, especially if it's in a matcha latte. It's got the same color and same grassy notes. It does lack the bitterness and unami flavors of matcha. I'd say it's a totally acceptable replacement.

We love ponzu but due to soy allergy in our child, we've had to give that up. We were skeptical of this at first but we're sold. Collectively we like it more than regular ponzu. It's been great with pork shabu as a dipping sauce, works wonderfully as a salad dressing, and also great for a light broth for somen or chazuke. Super versatile and really lovely and refreshing.

Flavor 4.8/5
It smells exactly like soy sauce, but is less salty, hence docking off the 0.2 points. It has the same flavors and umami but a deeper aftertaste.

Coconut aminos may work for stir fries, but if you're east asian and make braised dishes, you genuinely need real soy sauce. We've had to avoid soy due to milk and soy protein allergies in our child, and this has worked for all our dishes (sukiyaki don, braised pork rice, beef noodles etc.)

Our only gripe is that they don't sell it in a bigger bottle, and since it's less salty than regular soy sauce, you need to use more per dish.