The Haagen-dazs Rose Project Announces Top 50 #womenwhodontholdback Nominees Alongside its Global Judging Panel

Haagen-Dazs, the iconic ice cream brand, reveals the Top 50 #WomenWhoDontHoldBack nominees in honour of co-founder Rose Mattus on what would have been her birthday, November 23. Among the exceptional individuals recognized for their outstanding achievements, three women from India have earned their place on this prestigious global list of Top 50 nominees.

Three women from India have been shortlisted within the Top 50

On International Women’s Day 2023, Haagen-Dazs launched ‘The Rose Project’, a global initiative with a $100,000 bursary grant inviting nominations to recognise unsung trailblazing women in honour of the brand’s unsung female co-founder Rose Mattus. Today, 23 November, on what would have been Rose Mattus’ birthday, Haagen-Dazs celebrates her legacy with the announcement of the Top 50 #WomenWhoDontHoldBack nominees being shortlisted for their achievements and its five globally accomplished Haagen-Dazs Rose Project judges.

Over 2,500 applications were received for The Haagen-Dazs Rose Project putting forward pioneering efforts and societal contributions made by women across the globe. From these, 50 talented and inspirational women have been shortlisted and will be put forward to win one of five monetary grants of $20,000, which will be announced on International Women’s Day 2024, to continue their exceptional work, unleash their potential or give to a cause they are passionate about. The top 50 shortlist includes women from 17 countries hailing from across Europe, Asia, Africa & Middle East, Australia and the Americas. Every nominee’s story can be found at iwd.haagen-dazs.global/en.

A stellar all-female judging panel from across the world has been handpicked for the final selection stage of The Haagen-Dazs Rose Project. Inspirational, passionate and representative of the global nature of the project and the brand, the judges will work together to select 5 worthy honourees from the Top 50 list, who have followed their own trajectory of significant trailblazing achievements and epitomise the Haagen-Dazs ‘Don’t Hold Back’ ethos.

The panel includes UK-based author, charity founder and television presenter Katie Piper, fashion entrepreneur and advocate for women’s fertility issues, Velda Tan from Singapore, Spanish entrepreneur and creative director Inés Arroyo, community builder and founder of women’s community network, Lady Multitask, Mercedes Palomar from Mexico with Haagen-Dazs Shops Global Managing Director Aurélie Lory from France representing the brand.

Haagen-Dazs spokesperson Aurelie Lory said, “International Women’s Day 2023 marked the launch of The Haagen-Dazs Rose Project to honour the legacy of our co-founder, Rose Mattus, and create a fund platform to provide opportunities to women across all fields around the world who are truly deserving of support and recognition. We were thrilled to receive thousands of nominations across countries and our #WomenWhoDontHoldBack Top 50 shortlist is a compelling and diverse mosaic of trailblazing female narratives that moved us and serve as an inspiration to women everywhere. For this final stage, we are equally privileged to call upon a remarkable judging panel of pioneering female thought leaders and culture shapers, who share our value, to select our 1st ever Rose Project honourees as part of this renewed commitment.”

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 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 high end establishments of Manhattan and 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, and 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 honours and celebrates her legacy as a woman-founded business since 1960.