Haagen-Dazs Announces Five Winners for The Rose Project: Celebrating Trailblazing Women to Honour Its Co-Founder’s Legacy On International Women’s Day

• Each winner will receive an equal share of the $100,000 USD bursary fund to support their mission and work; the project continues with nominations now reopened for the Class of 2024

• As part of the brand’s wider International Women’s Day commitments in 2024, Haagen-Dazs has pledged support to grassroots women’s charities in India and other countries

• Free scoops of Vanilla (co-founder Rose Mattus’ favourite flavour) will be given out across in all Haagen-Dazs Shops in India on International Women’s Day itself and select countries across Europe, Asia, Latin America and South Africa as part of The Rose Project global celebration

In time for International Women’s Day this Friday, Haagen-Dazs is delighted to reveal the five extraordinary winners of The Rose Project Class of 2023, a global initiative that invited nominations from around the world to recognise unsung trailblazing women, in honour of the brand’s unsung female Co-founder Rose Mattus.

Winners of The Rose Project Class of 2023

The Class of 2023 winners include Eunice Maia from Portugal, Jennifer Seifert and Karol Ivanna Aceves Flores from Mexico, Sarah Kandolo from South Africa, and Yarett Pieiro from Puerto Rico. From over 2,500 applications from over 20 countries with an initial shortlist of 50 including 3 Indians, the winners were chosen for their pioneering efforts and societal contributions by a stellar all-female judging panel from across the globe. Each will receive an equal share of the $100,000 USD bursary grant to help them continue their exceptional work or give to a cause they are passionate about.

As part of Haagen-Dazs’ global commitment to empower and support women at all levels, this year the brand is pledging to support women-centric charities across Asia and Europe, via bespoke Rose Project products bundles to be launched ahead of International Women’s Day. In India, a portion of Haagen-Dazs Shops proceeds from the month of March will be donated to support the Navjeevan initiative to help empower distressed women via BAIF Livelihoods.

On Friday 8th March 2024, Haagen-Dazs will yet again offer a global free scoop giveaway as well as special promotions for its ‘Founder’s Favourite’ Vanilla ice cream in celebration of Rose Mattus and her beloved original flavour to consumers to mark International Women’s Day across Shops in Europe, Asia, Latin America and South Africa. In India, free Vanilla scoops will be given in all Haagen-Dazs Shops nationally across Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata.

As part of the celebration, a limited-edition International Women’s Day batch of 1960 Haagen-Dazs ‘Founder’s Favourite’ take-home ice cream pints has also been created to honour Rose Mattus. These commemorative pints will be available in all Haagen-Dazs Shops in India throughout the month of March to mark Women’s History Month.

Haagen-Dazs is delighted to announce that The Rose Project will be live for a second year to recognise pioneering women for the Class of 2024. Nominations are now open and can be submitted via iwd.haagen-dazs.global/ until 31st July 2024 for yourself or any another unsung woman who deserves recognition for their trailblazing efforts, achievements and societal contributions for a chance to win $20,000 USD funding grant.

Aurelie Lory, Global Managing Director of Haagen-Dazs Shops and member of The Rose Project judging panel said: ”As a brand proudly co-founded by a woman, Haagen-Dazs is committed to honour this legacy to support and empower women at all levels. The Haagen-Dazs Rose Project is the perfect platform for this. This year, across International Women’s Day, not only will we be announcing our first five trailblazing Rose Project winners, but extending our support to grassroots charities and celebrating everyday heroes with our Vanilla scoops giveaways in Shops. We hope this year’s incredible winners inspire other talented and unsung women to share their own story or put others forward in this year’s nominations.”

For more information on the five winners of the Class of 2023 and their incredible stories, and for further details on how to nominate talented #womenwhodontholdback for The Rose Project Class of 2024, visit iwd.haagen-dazs.global or Instagram via @haagendazs_roseproject.

About Rose Mattus & Haagen-Dazs

Haagen-Dazs was created in 1960 in New York by Rose and Reuben Mattus with a mission to make extraordinary ice cream. Rose Mattus is one of those indomitable women who stand behind great men without whom their men never achieve their ‘greatness’. Born in Manchester, England, her story begins across the ocean in Brooklyn, where as a young girl, she marries her high school sweetheart Reuben and joins his family’s ice cream business in South Bronx.

With the sustained ambition to make formidable ice cream, the couple established Haagen-Dazs in 1960 while overcoming the constraints of being from an immigrant background in the mid-twentieth century. They launched with three original flavours-chocolate, coffee and vanilla which was Rose’s personal favourite and one of the brand’s best-sellers to date whose recipe still hasn’t changed since then.

While Reuben focussed on making the ice cream, Rose ran the business and was the pioneer behind its marketing strategy sampling the product in Manhattans high-end establishments, creating loyalty with customers and building brand love and word-of-mouth with consumers without spending any advertising dollars. She created a true cult following by marketing a luxury product to an alternate connoisseur crowd with new tastes and preferences. In 1976, Rose with her daughter Doris brought Haagen-Dazs to new heights with the opening of the brand’s first retail shop in Brooklyn, and in the next few years, they developed a Shops franchising network coast-to-coast to expand the business nationally and even internationally. She was eventually recognised with Doris with an award for ‘Outstanding Entrepreneur’ by the National Association of Women Business Owners. As a family, they remained engaged in philanthropic activities, in particular supporting education.

Sales whiz, marketing maestro, and a true business partner to her inventor husband, Rose truly shaped the Haagen-Dazs brand building into what it is today. Yet, she remains an unrecognised hero next to Reuben who was widely acknowledged and celebrated for the brand creation. Until 8th March 2023, when Haagen-Dazs proudly honoured and celebrated her legacy as a woman-founded business since 1960 with The Rose Project.

About The Haagen-Dazs Rose Project 2023 Judging Panel

The five member global judging panel of the Rose Project included UK-based author, broadcaster and philanthropist, Katie Piper, fashion entrepreneur and advocate for women’s fertility issues, Velda Tan from Singapore, Spanish entrepreneur and creative director Ins Arroyo, community builder and founder of womens community network, Lady Multitask, Mercedes Palomar from Mexico with Haagen-Dazs Shops Global Managing Director Aurelie Lory from France representing the brand.