WHEN the Evening Press announced the launch last April of expatshopping.com with the headline, It Ain't Half Dotcom, it sparked national - and international - headlines.

It was great news for the 13.5 million Britons living abroad, most of whom yearn for a taste of unobtainable Bisto, baked beans or Liptons tea. Ex-soldiers Simon Aldrich (right) and Richard Finch who knew those pangs, now cater for them from their base on the Link Road estate, Osbaldwick with an extensive web site and e-commerce facility selling more than 1,500 products.

Linking arms with Parcel Force they offer excellent rates of postage and keen product pricing as well as delivery to 239 countries. Within days of the Evening Press coverage they received more than one million 'hits' on to the website and overnight it was the leader in a fledgling market, making a profit in its first week.

Fittingly, they are now pitching for the title of Evening Press Business of 2000 by entering three categories - new business of the year, exporter of the year and growth and innovative use of new technology award.

Building on the success of the consumer site, expatshopping.com is now developing the lucrative business-to-business marketplace, with first containers of British brand products destined for British consulates in Asia leaving York any day now.

With growing demand, a £1 million overhaul of the website is now taking place.

Simon says: "The Internet can be the basis for a solid, profitable business.... Expatshopping.com has taken e-commerce back to basics with a common-sense business model: Providing global access to products that customers want, at a price they are prepared to pay."