Jelly Drops wins UK Dementia Care Innovation Award

  • 13 November 2020
  • Drinks
The London-based brand of sugar-free water sweets entered the market in October to tackle dehydration in people who have dementia
The Jelly Drops team
The Jelly Drops team, from left: Nick Hooton, chief executive, Claudia Arnold, chief operations officer, and Lewis Hornby, founder

Jelly Drops has taken home the Innovation Award 2020 at the National Dementia Care Awards. The London-based start-up launched in the UK market last month to help boost the water intake of the elderly and 850,000 Britons living with dementia who have been among the hardest hit by the pandemic.

Dehydration is common among the elderly, especially those with dementia, as they often forget to drink – 37% of older people admitted to hospitals are acutely dehydrated.

The National Dementia Care Awards is an annual event in the UK organised by Investor Publishing, NutritionInvestor‘s parent company. The event highlights excellence and innovation for those working with people with dementia, in hospitals, care homes, and within the community as a whole.

Lewis Hornby, the inventor of Jelly Drops, commented: “We are humbled to be recognised as one of the game changers in Dementia care, alongside some of the very best names in the industry.

“We’re truly touched by the response to Jelly Drops from not only our customers and their carers, but also from the whole dementia community. This is a very special moment for us, and we’re excited to continue to innovate in this space, and are more determined than ever to improve the millions of lives affected by dementia.”

Jelly Drops for healthcare

The teardrop-shaped sweets come in six natural fruity flavours. Each tray holds 24 Jelly Drops, which equates to a boost of 300 ml of water. Flavours include strawberry, raspberry, blackcurrant, orange, lemon and lime.

The unique shape was specially designed to make them easy to pick up

The unique shape was specially designed to make them easy to pick up, enabling the elderly and those with dementia to boost their water intake independently and with dignity. They can be snacked on throughout the day, promoting enjoyable social interactions between carers, family members and residents.

Michelle Davies, Senior innovator at the Alzheimer’s Society, added: “Congratulations to the Jelly Drops team! Their fantastic product is already making a real difference to people living with dementia, and we are absolutely thrilled that all of their hard work and commitment has been recognised.

“Alzheimer’s Society’s Innovation team are proud to have supported Jelly Drops through our accelerator programme, which helps quickly develop and bring to life solutions to the challenges people with dementia face on a daily basis.”