Reuben Mattus made ice cream, but Rose Mattus really made Häagen-Dazs. A trailblazing woman who didn’t hold back, Rose broke glass ceilings in 1960s’ New York and made Häagen-Dazs a trendsetter prized by ice cream fanatics with her ingenious marketing & brand building tactics. While Reuben focused on obsessively creating the best quality products and flavours that would become the quintessential symbol of luxury and indulgence, Rose basically ran the business so her husband could become successful. Her favourite Häagen-Dazs flavour? The iconic Vanilla. On International Women’s Day, Häagen-Dazs Vanilla ice cream will be rebranded as the ‘Founder’s Favourite’ in recognition of Rose’s life-long love for it.
Over 100 Häagen-Dazs Shops around the world will offer free Vanilla ice cream scoops to everyone in its biggest global giveaway to date, while proudly rebranding as a woman-founded business established 1960. In Malaysia, this will take place in all Häagen-Dazs Shops in a Buy 2 Get 1 promotion between 6-10 Mar (Mon-Fri).
As part of the celebration, a limited-edition IWD run of 1960 Häagen-Dazs ‘Founder’s Favourite’ ice cream pints has been created to honour Rose. The pints will be available in all Haagen-Dazs Shops throughout the month of March and consumers can redeem this limited offer by nominating someone for The Rose Project
This International Women’s Day also sees the launch of ‘The Rose Project’, a purpose-driven initiative with a $100k bursary to support #WomenWhoDon’tHoldBack, honouring the legacy of Rose Mattus.
Rose was a true business partner to Reuben and alongside their daughter Doris, they created the blueprint of the brand’s shops franchise business yet Rose’s contribution is relatively unsung compared to that of her husband who is credited with the brand creation. On 8th March 2023 this will change with the launch of ‘The Rose Project’, which aims to support talented unsung women across all fields around the world who Don’t Hold Back and who deserve recognition. This initiative shines a light on Rose Mattus’ own story and her Don’t Hold Back spirit and aims to inspire everyone to share their own story.
Nominations are now open for you to nominate an unsung woman (including yourself) that you believe deserves recognition for their trailblazing efforts, achievements and societal contributions. From these nominations, 50 ‘WOMEN WHO DON’T HOLD BACK’ will be selected for their commendable efforts and then put forward for the opportunity to win one of five monetary grants of $20,000 each. The Rose Project fund will enable these five Rose Project Honourees to continue their exceptional work and unleash their potential (or even give to a cause they’re passionate about).
Nominations can be submitted via https://iwd.haagen-dazs.global/. Alternatively, comment on a Häagen-Dazs social media post celebrating the 2023 International Women’s Day campaign tagging the woman that you would like to nominate and a short description why, using the hashtag #RoseProject.