Residents at a Rayleigh care home were delighted after receiving retro “memory Cadbury bars” to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the chocolate company.

To mark dementia action week, staff and residents at Pinetree Care Home, in Rawreth Lane, received the chocolate bars aimed at bringing back memories of “when they were young”.

The idea was to use the chocolate brand’s history to provide a sense of nostalgia, with Dairy Milk bars from 1915 to present day included in the memory boxes.

The boxes were not just filled with retro Cadbury chocolate, but also comprised a digital download link.

Through this link, users could access more content, including past packaging of Cadbury products and classic posters, aiming to spark a journey down memory lane for many.

Laura Glyde, general manager at Pinetree Care Home, said: “Our approach to caring for residents living with dementia will be focused on positivity and delivering person-centred care, it can be a complex condition and at times frustrating both for the person living with it and their loved ones, as they experience changes in their abilities.

“An activity that we have found to be beneficial in improving cognition and mood is designing group activities to help residents reminisce and take a trip back through time, a great way of stimulating conversation.

“The memorable wrappers brought positive happy stimuli during these activities and provided an opportunity to share memories and laughter together.”

With this initiative, Cadbury wants to bring attention to the grave statistics predicting one in two people will be affected by dementia during their lifetime.

Cadbury will also be donating £200,000 to support Alzheimer’s research.

Senior marketing director at Cadbury, Elise Burditt, said: “As Cadbury turns 200 this year, there has been great excitement in celebrating the longstanding relationship between the brand and the British public.

“As part of the celebrations, we wanted to answer special requests that had been coming from care homes, dementia support groups and members of the public over the years, for nostalgic Cadbury wrappers and posters, which could provide a sense of comfort and connection to those living with dementia.”