Tucked away amidst the fields and woods of north Wiltshire is an emporium of mustards and spices.

Approach the home of Tracklements: Curious Curators of Culinary Condiments, and even before you have stepped through the door, the heady fragrance beckons. Inside, you are immersed in a tantalising brew of mouth-watering scents – mustardy, peppery, spicy. Rows of jars gleam on shelves, filled with colourful mustards, pickles and preserves.

A large picture on the wall shows a man standing waist-deep in a field of gloriously yellow flowering mustard. This is Guy Tullberg – current managing director, and son of William Tullberg, who set up the business from scratch when he wanted a tasty mustard, and found a recipe in the diary of John Evelyn, a 17th century gentleman and Royalist. William Tullberg was working in Calne at the time, at the Harris pork factory.

“They used to make so many sausages, he wanted to make his own mustard,” Guy says. “He was very interested in food, and this was at a time when the only olive oil available was in Boots, for putting on your feet.”

William used an old coffee grinder to mill the mustard seed, and in his own kitchen. This was 1970 – and later that year, he sold a few jars of mustard to a local pub, the Nag’s Head, and the brand was born.

“My great grandmother was born in Holt, in Wiltshire, and she used to say ‘pass the tracklements’ – I think it’s an older English word,” Guy says.

At a time when many homes only had bottles of HP sauce and tomato ketchup on the dinner table, this early artisan condiment quickly gained in popularity – and by 1972, the budding Wiltshire company began selling its mustard in Harrods, London. By 1992, the business began exporting its expanding range of mustards, pickles and preserves, and today, they have over 60 products and sell in 24 countries around the world. What has not changed, however, is that everything is still made in small batches, by hand, and using traditional recipes. The business still stays true to its Wiltshire community roots, with local crab-apple collections and a medlar harvest, used to help the bees.

“It’s simple food well made,” Guy says. “And I think we are the slowest expanding business in the UK!”

The Tracklements headquarters stand near Easton Grey, and now employs around 45 people. They have operated from their current premises for ten years, after starting in Urchfont, then Sherston, and Pinkney.

They make 11 different mustards, including its Original Wiltshire Mustard, a British Beer Mustard and a Punchy Balsamic Mustard. Among the eight chutneys are some traditional British favourites, such as apricot and ginger, as well as Indian mango chutney. They also have an impressive line-up of pickles, jellies, relishes and sauces.

Guy says he has a large collection of food history books, and they have taken inspiration from traditional recipes.

“People in this country have been using spices for 500 years – and we made things to accompany food. It’s a very traditional British way of eating,” he says. “People have less time to cook these days, and these make the difference – they can transform a meal, so in the modern world they feel very relevant.

“We are very traditional in what we do, and how we do it, but modern in how we use Instagram, and Facebook and have online competitions.”

Guy, who is also chairman of the Bath and Wiltshire Institute of Directors, says the family business has long been a part of his life – though he did not always work for the company.

“I was raised on it,” he says. “I went to London for a bit, but I’ve been here for over 30 years now, and I have really enjoyed the adventure. We have a focus on the culture and values of our business and I see my role as looking after 45 people to create Tracklements.

“When we built this factory, we wanted it to be the best possible space – that’s really important.”

He adds: “We have a very low staff turnover, and a great workforce. Why would we want to move to an industrial estate when we have this view?”

Inside the Tracklement headquarters are sacks and jars of tempting ingredients – sultanas, mangos and apricots, fine sea salt, dried figs. Ian Langdown, who has worked for Tracklements for nearly 20 years, explains that they use fresh or chilled ingredients where possible.

“All our preserves are natural -using sugar and vinegar,” he says. “When our mustard seed is ground it is left for five days, which allows the flavour to develop.”

Developing long-standing relationships with suppliers has also been important – they have used the same company to supply vinegar for 30 years, for example. In 2003, a local farmer was enlisted to grow mustard for them.

The business, which produces about 10 thousand jars of condiments a week, also tries to minimise its environmental footprint by using recyclable packaging, having its own water treatment facility, and a host of solar panels, which enable it to generate much of its own electricity – and at the weekends to feed power into the national grid through green energy company Good Energy.

For more than ten years, children from local primary schools have been involved in a crab-apple project – picking as many crab-apples as they can to make Tracklements’ English Crab-apple Jelly. For every kilo of crab-apples they pick, 50 pence goes to the school, and 25 pence from each jar of jelly sold goes to a charity of the school’s choice. Every autumn, local people are invited to donate fruit from medlar trees they might have growing in their gardens, which is then turned into Aromatic Medlar Jelly. For every jar sold, 50 pence goes towards buying bee-friendly medlar trees, in collaboration with the Bumblebee Conservation Trust.

And will the next generation of Tullbergs continue to steer the company into the future? Guy, who has three children, says: “They have all worked in the factory, and at shows. We shall see!”

You can buy Tracklements online, or locally in shops, such as Balula’s in Wood Street, Swindon Pulse Wholefood in Curtis Street, or Hunt Butchers in Rodbourne Road. For more information, visit tracklements.co.uk.