Our Story
Handcrafting Spice Since 2007
My name is Stephen Gollan I am a professional travel photographer & writer. My journey to becoming a spice merchant began back in 2007 after I returned from a lengthy trip abroad through East Africa and India. On this trip I was introduced to a whole new world of spices and found my calling.
​
Little did i know this was only the beginning of my adventures around the world. As my funds began to shrink I realized i needed to combine my love of travel and cooking and create a business to fund my adventures. So I took the very spices I had brought home and began selling the blends I learned abroad in local farmers markets.
​
Working as an English teacher, scuba instructor, chef, travel photographer/writer & of course spice merchant I have had the unique opportunity to visit over 100 countries.
As my travels continued and my inventory of spices grew so did the markets. Eventually my mother decided to join me after she retired and has been my right hand ever since.
​
7 years later my partner Chelsea was added to the team as we took the leap from Farmers Markets to Public Markets. Our small family business is growing rapidly thanks to our hard working farmers & suppliers from around the globe as well as our faithful customers.
​
I may be known as The Spice Guy to some, but after our team grew we evolved into The Spice Merchant! It's been a wild adventure so far and we cannot wait to see which corners of the world we head to next to get more spice!