Shepton High Street business wins Somerset award

By Laura Linham 6th Aug 2026

Local News by Laura Linham 1 hour ago

Total Gut Health & Wellness Centre on Shepton Mallet High Street has won a Somerset business award.

Founder Violet Tomlinson has been named Somerset Start Up Business Woman of the Year 2026, recognising the growth of the independent health and wellbeing business since it opened in February 2025.

The award has been welcomed locally as a proud moment for Shepton Mallet, with the High Street business recognised alongside much larger organisations. Supporters said the win showed the town is home to exceptional local talent.

Ms Tomlinson said: "I opened Total Gut Health & Wellness Centre in February 2025 with one vision: to create Somerset's leading integrative hub for gut health, hormonal balance, lymphatic care and whole-body wellbeing."

Before launching the centre, Ms Tomlinson spent more than a decade working as a midwife in high-risk NHS care. She said that experience shaped the kind of support she wanted the business to offer.

She said: "I saw first-hand the profound impact that stress, trauma, hormones and lifestyle can have on people's physical and emotional health. I wanted to build a centre where clients could receive compassionate, evidence-informed support that bridges clinical knowledge with holistic therapies."

The business has grown quickly from a sole-practitioner start-up into a centre that now provides a professional home for three other women in business. Ms Tomlinson said the centre has become a collaborative community of independent practitioners supporting people in Shepton Mallet and across the wider Somerset area.

Through Total Gut Health, Ms Tomlinson offers colon hydrotherapy, scar massage therapy, manual lymphatic drainage, food-sensitivity testing, microbiome analysis, nutritional consultations and individually tailored wellness plans.

The centre also runs educational initiatives, including Microbiome Monday, and provides support for people experiencing digestive problems, hormonal imbalances, lymphatic swelling, burnout and complex health concerns.

Ms Tomlinson said: "Since opening, I have supported hundreds of clients, many of whom came to me after feeling unheard or unsure where else to turn. My approach is always compassionate, evidence-informed and centred around supporting the individual — not simply treating a symptom."

Her longer-term plans include expanding the team of practitioners, introducing affordable workshops and educational programmes, offering mentorship and developing access to more advanced whole-body wellness and specialist support in Somerset.

Ms Tomlinson said building the business while working as an NHS midwife and raising her family had taken "an enormous amount of determination, resilience and personal investment". She said seeing the centre grow into a welcoming and trusted space had made the leap worthwhile.

The win gives Shepton Mallet another independent High Street success story at a time when local businesses are working hard to pull people into the town centre. For supporters, it is proof that backing local does not just keep shops open — it helps ambitious small businesses grow.