Häagen-Dazs honours its unsung female founder on International Women’s Day

Reuben Mattus made the ice cream, but Rose Mattus made Häagen-Dazs. This International Women’s Day, Häagen-Dazs is celebrating its trailblazing female co-founder Rose Mattus with a global initiative to shine a light on her unsung contribution to the brand and her #DontHoldBack ethos.

Born to Polish-Jewish parents in Manchester, Rose Mattus was the business brain and marketing pioneer behind making Häagen-Dazs famous, however she remained relatively unsung compared to her husband Reuben who is largely credited with the iconic recipes and creation of the brand.

To honour Rose’s contribution, Häagen-Dazs is launching a global rebrand with the tag, "Rose Mättus Woman Founded Business Established 1960", to accompany the Häagen-Dazs logo across multiple touch points in its global Shops and on digital and social platforms.

International Women’s Day 2023 marks the launch of "The Rose Project", an initiative honouring Rose’s legacy, which pledges $100,000 in bursaries to support remarkable women around the world who Don’t Hold Back just like Rose herself. People across the globe will have the opportunity to nominate unsung women (or even themselves) who deserve recognition for their trailblazing efforts, achievements and societal contributions.

“We will honour and mark Rose’s legacy with the launch of our new global platform, The Rose Project, which aims to support women across all fields around the world who Don’t Hold Back and who are deserving of recognition," said Clare Brosnan, Global Brand Experience Director at Häagen-Dazs We hope that Rose Mattus’s story inspires talented and often unsung women to share their own and also put others forward for the grants."

From these nominations, a shortlist of 50 "WOMEN WHO DON’T HOLD BACK" will be selected for their commendable efforts and put forward for the opportunity to win one of five monetary grants of $20,000 each. The bursary 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 for The Rose Project are now open and can be submitted here.

Global celebrations for Rose Mattus also include a free scoop giveaway on 8 March in over 100 Shops across Europe, Asia, Middle East and Latin America of Häagen-Dazs Vanilla to celebrate her "Founder’s Favourite" flavour as well as limited-edition 1960 Häagen-Dazs Vanilla pints with a commemorative Rose Mattus design available in all celebrating shops throughout March.