Ice cream brand Häagen-Dazs is honouring its unsung female co-founder Rose Mattus this International Women’s Day by launching ‘the Rose Project’ to protect her legacy.
In support of the IWD ‘Embrace Equity’ theme, Häagen-Dazs is shining a light on the pioneering role that Rose played within the business that she built alongside her husband, Reuben.
Through ‘the Rose Project’, the US firm has pledged to provide US$100,000 in bursaries to support ‘trailblazing’ women around the world, with members of the public able to nominate unsung women who have made exceptional contributions to society.
A shortlist of 50 ‘Women Who Don’t Hold Back’ will be announced, with the five winning entrants securing $20,000 grants each to unleash their potential.
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“In 2021, we launched our Women Who Don’t Hold Back campaign shining a light on female trailblazers around the globe, but now it’s time to recognise our own remarkable female founder,” Häagen-Dazs global brand experience director, Clare Brosnan said.
“Reuben Mattus made our flavours but Rose Mattus made us famous! By telling Rose’s untold story as a marketing pioneer who built our brand as a true partner to her inventor husband and helped create our Shops business with her daughter Doris, we hope to use this year’s IWD celebration as a beacon for #EmbraceEquity.”
She continued: “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.
“We hope that Rose Mattus’ story inspires talented and often unsung women to share their own and also put others forward for the grants. The launch of The Rose Project directly puts our purpose to action with the long-term commitment to supporting women and gender equity going well beyond International Women’s Day.”
