Shop online for over 70 spices, blends and pastes from Anthony the Spice Maker

Among the many stalls in the dry section of Mayflower Market and Food Centre at Ang Mo Kio, one sticks out in both look and smell.

At Anthony the Spice Maker, light brown packets of spices with black and white labels on them are lined up in wooden crates, all neatly displayed on black shelves. In another corner, a fridge is filled with small plastic containers of pastes, and at the entrance to the stall, more packets of spices are displayed on a trolley.

Jack Leow, 28, who runs this stall was inspired by the markets in Australia when he was renovating this stall. "The markets there are so clean, and you don't even feel like you are in the market," says Mr Leow. The stall is named after his father, Anthony, who runs another outlet in Chinatown.

Mr Leow wanted his stall at Ang Mo Kio to look different from the traditional ones in wet markets, "to get people to notice us, and to do something that hadn't been done before". He undertook the renovations himself and even applied for permission to have glass panels installed on one side, so that even when the main shutters are down, passersby can still peer into the stall to see what's for sale.

Unlike other hawkers who may sell spices in loose form, Mr Leow chooses to invest in coffee pouches to package his spices. "These pouches are better for locking in the fragrance of the spices, and they can be resealed," he says.

The design of the pouch labels are kept simple, and have recipes printed on them. The labels on the plastic containers which contain spice pastes come with QR codes, so that customers can access the recipes online. The website offers recipes and even video tutorials with Mr Leow, a self-confessed avid home cook, doing the demonstration.

While most of their customers in Singapore buy from the stalls, an online shop has also been set up. "We also want our overseas customers to continue buying from us, so we offer international shipping too," says Mr Leow.

He adds that, "while the shop and the operations are modern, we are still a very traditional business".  The spices are blended and packed on a small scale, at a neighbouring stall.

The Leow family got into the spice business way back in 1979, thanks to Mr Leow's grandfather. The family used to live in a kampong, and his grandfather ran a sharksfin cleaning business. When the family was relocated to a HDB flat, his grandfather had to give up the business and decided to switch to selling spices. He knew nothing about it, so he sent two family members to  Little India to learn from a spice merchant the basics of handling spice, as well as how to turn the spices into paste, or rempah.

Later, Mr Leow's father took over the business. Six years ago, Mr Leow decided to join the family business.

Anthony the Spice Makers carries about 70 types of raw spices and herbs, blends and pastes. Their best seller is the Curry Powder Singapura, made with spices such as coriander, chilli, fennel, turmeric and black pepper.

Mr Leow says that most people come to them to buy blends for familiar dishes such as chilli crab, rendang and laksa. Spice blends cost upwards of S$8.50 a pack.

Asked about his plans for the future, Mr Leow says he will "do what needs to be done", elaborating that he wants to reach out to a wider spectrum of customers and streamline operations.

He isn't thinking about opening another market stall. "Who knows? Wet market stalls are dying, and there may be none left in the future," he says. But he isn't too worried about his business if that happens. "We can still continue selling our spices online," he says.

This story was first published in The Business Times. Click here to read the original version.