They have a saying in Broadies Supplements in Midsomer Norton : Take it slow and low.

But this just-over-a-year old shop is taking things pretty fast at the moment, making big plans for 2021, after winning not just one, but two big retail awards.

Nub News caught up with co- owner Esther Dodd who has ambitious plans for the New Year, including hiring two new staff. She is also hoping that there may be a real event so that they can accept their award for the best sales in the South West, AND she'd like to have a birthday party for her 30th.

These kind of businesses will also be subject to a new Food Standards Association ruling, which will commit to a better understanding and information about just what Cannabidiol or CBD is and does.

Something that is welcomed by Broadies.

Esther explained: " This will keep all customers safe - whether it is an edible, whether a product is at a legal level. Officials found a lot of people making their own CBD products and saying it was such a high dosage and there have been cases where people have been buying what they thought was CBD and it was not. They are finding that they get bad effects from it. Then people are reluctant to try it because they have had a bad experiences."

Essentially after March only products that have been ruled safe for sale will be on the shelves. So what does Broadies have for sale?

Esther is quick to say : " You don't have to come into the shop to BUY anything, you can just come in and have a chat. We are not allowed to TELL you about what a product will do but we have books and information on hand from medical experts where you can see what they have written about and the research. What they have found can help.

" I endured some personal difficulties and I found that CBD was the only thing that helped me. Rob was working seven days a week as a window fitter, and so we never spent any time together. For me I knew nothing about CBD and I was joining groups in Canada and American where they can walk into their dispensaries and access CBD. "

So who is a typical customer ?

"People walk in and say what is going to work for this this and this. I always say it is not about what is going to work - I think, do you like having a bath, drinking a cup of tea? Do you take tablets? I fit the question into what you do in your daily life. We say it is trial and error and low and slow. We are here to help you find what works for you as an individual."

So for what exactly is Cannabidiol (CBD?)

There are two main ingredients that are found in the marijuana plant, CBD and THC. Together these both belong to an exclusive class of compounds known as cannabinoids.

Hemp and marijuana come from the same plant, but they couldn't be more different. CBD is mainly processed form of the hemp plant.

Everyone naturally produce endocannabinoids-a compound similar to CBD and people are shocked to be told it's already in our body. Cannabinoids aren't just found in the cannabis plant, they're in us too.

CBD is known as a non-psychoactive cannabinoid meaning when you take it, it won't get you high. This unique feature is what makes individuals attracted to CBD.

Frustrations about running Broadies - the owners have a few

Esther told Nub News : "What is frustrating is that we cannot talk about any medical claims at all. I have personal medical conditions that I want to shout and rave about how it helped but I cant say that because we are not allowed to promote it as a medical product. We can only say it is an awareness product. We can talk about research and information all of which you can find in the shop. You can find out stuff for yourself but we cannot tell you. "

The journey to getting the shop up and running has been hard.

" I saw the shop up for sale and I just thought let's do it. But I never knew that it would be so difficult. We also wanted it to be a place where people can be learning about CBD too, they can explore what we have

We opened in September 2019. To begin with it was so hard, in fact we only got a card machine THIS September. I had to go around to all the banks and they were all very reluctant to give us an account, so I went to the neighbour (the gun shop in Midsomer Norton) and asked the gentleman who he banked with. He said Natwest so I approached them. I then had to take everything there to prove we were of a legal status ; we had a huge thick folder of all our paperwork, so thank you Natwest. We had to prove all the evidence that we were not illegal. "

Now Esther and Rob are looking to 2021 - not least because Esther will also turn 30.

" We have signed up for the kickstart programme so we put ourselves forward to have two employees. The jobs will hopefully be up in January. One of those will be for someone in the evening so we can turn part of the shop of more of a coffee area, offering some where where people can find out more about CBD - if they want to know more, but are a bit scared to ask. A lot of people work all day too so it will be nice to see those as customers. More hands on deck mean we can make that possible. And then I am hoping I might be able to have a birthday party... but who knows? "

You can learn more about Broadies by clicking HERE : the Broadies Supplements site