Gourmet gumption and the chopping board of change; An innovative spice company is spreading its zings, writes Dominique Herman.

'I want nomu." This message sent recently by a Turk named Esra to boutique spice company NoMU indicates two things: that names of good products will find their way across the globe, extensive marketing campaign or not, and that Esra is in good company.

Also, "NoMU" is written just like that.

Among the 200 000 website hits a month are inquiries from places such as Colombia and Venezuela where NoMU products are unavailable. With exports to 28 countries - Romania most recently added its name to the distribution list - NoMU has developed in six years from a one-woman operation in an 8m2 space to a business that employs 20 people in a modern 980m2 factory at Airport Industria.

And although NoMU is the story of a young South African cook called Tracy Foulkes, who …