Häagen-Dazs Finally Honors Less-Celebrated Female Founder With Rebranded Vanilla

In time for International Women’s Day, Häagen-Dazs is paying sweet homage to its female co-founder Rose Mattus by renaming her favorite flavor, vanilla, after her.

This month, a Commemorative Edition of the brand’s vanilla ice cream will roll out across the world under the name 1960 ‘Founder’s Favourite’. 

Here’s the scoop: While Rose’s husband, Reuben Mattus, has been well-credited as the founder of Häagen-Dazs, she had led the company by his side as its creative and business force, making her role just as crucial as her partner’s. Reuben Mattus invented the flavors, but Rose Mattus took charge of the brand’s marketing and remains an unsung heroine.

In her honor, Häagen-Dazs has now started a global initiative called The Rose Project, pledging a US$100,000 bursary to support women who “don’t hold back.” The campaign was produced by creative collective Forsman & Bodenfors New York, while LOVE oversaw all creative and design.

“Whilst Reuben is widely celebrated for its creation, Rose’s pioneering approach as its business and marketing whiz remained largely unrecognized,” Häagen-Dazs describes in a press release. “A real trailblazer, Rose’s don’t-hold-back attitude smashed glass ceilings in 1960s New York to make Häagen-Dazs a trendsetter prized by ice cream fanatics.”

Häagen-Dazs says Rose Mattus was “a marketing pioneer of the time” who helped build the brand without spending any advertising dollars. She relied solely on samples and word-of-mouth to get Häagen-Dazs pints into the fridges of posh establishments and Manhattan’s swanky neighborhoods.

In 1976, Rose Mattus and her daughter Doris opened the first Häagen-Dazs Shop in Brooklyn, before growing a full franchising network for the retail location.

To spread the word about her contributions, Häagen-Dazs has also added ‘Rose Mattus Woman Founded Business Established 1960’ to its logo for International Women’s Day.

Fans around the world can now nominate themselves or other underappreciated female tastemakers who deserve recognition for their tireless work. Häagen-Dazs will then select 50 names to support with the US$100,000 fund.

Free scoops of ‘Founder’s Favourite’ will be given out on International Women’s Day on March 8 in over 100 participating ice-cream shops in Europe, Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East, marking the brand’s largest international giveaway yet. The special edition will also be available as a take-home pint for the month of March.

[via Marketing Interactive and Campaign UK, images via Häagen-Dazs / PR Newswire]