26-05-2025
Boots launches memory box initiative to help people living with dementia
Boots has launched a nationwide initiative to help people with dementia.
The health and beauty retailer has created more than 1,000 multi-sensory memory boxes, which are being distributed to care homes and communities across the UK during Dementia Action Week, which runs from Monday, May 19 to Sunday, May 25.
The initiative is based on research by Professor Victoria Tischler and her colleagues from the Universities of Surrey, West London and Nottingham, which highlights the connection between smell, familiar objects and memory.
The study, conducted using the Boots Memory Boxes, found that handling familiar objects with distinctive smells and designs can provide well-being benefits for people with dementia, including improved mood, social inclusion and memory retrieval.
The memory boxes are filled with items carefully selected by the Boots Archive team, including popular toiletries and soaps, which can remind people of loved ones, and cough medicine or bath salts, which can help them remember times they cared for themselves or others.
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The boxes also feature items with familiar sounds, such as the click of an old powder compact or camera.
Many of the items in the boxes were donated by Boots team members, partners and suppliers.
Sophie Clapp, Boots company archivist, said: "With over 175 years of history, Boots is a brand that has been part of people's lives through generations.
"Through our memory box initiative, we can use our rich history and extensive archive to spark connections between those affected by dementia and their loved ones and carers over shared memories and experiences.
"It has been great to see the positive impact the Boots Memory Boxes have had through the research project with Professor Tischler and her team and to see how much the boxes have meant to the care home residents that have received them so far."
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Professor Victoria Tischler, professor of behavioural science at the University of Surrey, said: "Our research showed clear connections between sensory simulation, memory and well-being.
"We built on the established connection between smell and memory to create memory boxes that use recognisable Boots products that stimulate engagement and enhance mood in those affected by dementia.
"It's really great that Boots is now rolling out its memory boxes to reach more people with dementia as well as creating a resource for their carers – a group it's so important to support. It's such a simple initiative yet it has a powerful impact that's backed up by research."
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One care home that was among the first to receive a Boots Memory Box held an interactive session with their residents.
Lucy Atkinson, director at Church Farm Care, Nottingham, said: "During the memory box sessions we've held, I've seen the most remarkable transformation in the people who live with us here.
"People living with dementia light up when they smell something familiar from their youth, sparking memories that last beyond the session.
"One lady was flooded with happy memories seeing items she remembered from childhood, which prompted her to animatedly share stories with the group.
"The sessions have not only brought a lot of joy but also help to access memories that were otherwise lost, memories that help people to remember who they are."
