Cris and Jason Wootton, owners of Health & Remedy
Somerset-based Health & Remedy has won the Love Your High Street Award 2026, beating a record number of nominations after topping the public vote.
The British Independent Retailers Association (Bira), which represents more than 6,000 independent retailers, says it received 601 nominations this year, up from 588 in 2025. A panel of four judges independently selected eight finalists, before the public voted for their favourites. A total of 3,157 votes were cast.
The Chard health food store, owned by Cris and Jason Wootton, received 31.17% of the vote, ahead of A Darn Good Yarn in Camborne, Cornwall (21.76%) and Rocket and Bird in Taunton, Somerset (19.45%).
Health & Remedy, opened in September 2025, impressed the judges with its community spirit, including setting up Chard Guide, a free community page promoting other local businesses.
Commenting on this year’s winner, Andrew Goodacre, CEO of Bira, says: “Health & Remedy is a brilliant example of what a new independent can achieve when it puts its community first. To be this young and already be shouting about other local businesses says everything about the kind of high street shop people want to support. Congratulations to Cris, Jason and the whole team.
“The standard of entries this year was extraordinary, and it was great to see so many communities get behind their local favourites.”
The other award finalists were That Little Bookshop in Stafford, Garden King in Swadlincote, Derbyshire, Jackson’s, the Herbalists of Yorkshire in Doncaster, Not Just Pets in Frome and Bath and The Mug Tree Tea Room in East Grinstead.
Giving back
“Wow, what an incredible honour to receive this award!” says Jason. “We were genuinely shocked to even be nominated for a Bira award as a relatively new business, so to go on and win is beyond anything we could have imagined!
“We absolutely love Chard and believe that being part of a high street is about much more than simply running a shop. It’s about supporting your community, giving something back and creating somewhere people love to visit.
“We hope our success shows that there are still fantastic opportunities for new businesses on our high streets. With a supportive town, exciting products and genuinely customer-focused service, independent businesses really can thrive.”
Cris adds: “We’re incredibly proud to bring this award home to Chard and want to thank Bira, our amazing team and everyone in our wonderful community who has supported us. This award means the world to us!”
The winner will be celebrated during Love Your High Street Week, taking place from 9-15 November. For more information, visit https://bira.co.uk/campaigns/lyhs/.
By Jane Wolfe, contributor