MINNEAPOLIS, USA — Ahead of International Women’s Day, Häagen-Dazs reveals the five extraordinary winners of The Rose Project, Class of 2023. The Rose Project is a global initiative that invited nominations from around the world to recognize unsung trailblazing women, in honor of the brand’s female Co-founder Rose Mattus.
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 Piñeiro from Puerto Rico.
- Eunice opened the doors to her organic bulk grocery store, Maria Granel, in Lisbon in 2015. Her awareness of the global issues facing food systems and passion for healthy and sustainable food consumption drives the project, with consumers in the store encouraged to engage with the products they are buying and food they are eating. Eunice has since set up an environmental education program, and is committed to expanding awareness of sustainability practices at home, in the workplace and in the community.
- Jennifer spearheaded a movement in Mexico to protect women and children against coercive control and post-separation abuse in Mexico. Her grassroots project born from sharing an intimate personal experience, quickly grew into a national movement to support women facing violence through a 24/7 access portal and legislative change. Jennifer’s initiatives have been approved in 25 of 32 Mexican states, and she is an international example of providing meaningful change to the everyday lives of women.
- At only 23 years old, Karol is a force for change in the sexual education space in Mexico. Realizing the extent of sexual misinformation, she set up Mi’Kobol, a project which focuses on providing a safe space for young people to learn and engage with sex education. Karol’s initiative has informed over 2,000 10 to 24 year olds, and she continues to pioneer workshops and events to expand knowledge about the topic.
- Sarah co-founded the #TalkAboutHer project where she drew strength from the rich legacy of authentic African female leaders and embarked upon a journey to encourage and celebrate leadership roles among African women. Sarah empowered young people within their communities and captured the untold story of female leaders in African countries, and plans to expand the initiative to highlight the critical role African women play in the long-term viability of communities.
- Yarett founded ASLES (Advancement in Sign Language Education and Services), a company which emerged from her experience as a Deaf woman and passion to fight for the equality and rights of the Deaf Community in Puerto Rico. Through ASLES, Yarett provides life changing Sign Language Education and interpretation courses, working with individuals and families to facilitate communication between Deaf and hearing individuals.
Each of the Class of 2023 winners will receive an equal share of the $100,000 USD bursary grant to help them continue their exceptional work, unleash their potential or give to a cause they’re passionate about. From over 2,500 applications, the winners were chosen for their pioneering efforts and societal contributions by a stellar all-female judging panel from across the globe (further details about the jury
can be found below).
The Rose Project will continue for a second year to recognize the Class of 2024. Nominations are open and can be submitted until July 31, 2024. Nominate yourself or another unsung woman who deserves recognition via https://iwd.haagen-dazs.global/.
Aurélie Lory, Global Managing Director of Häagen-Dazs Shops and The Rose Project, and a judging panelist, said: “As a brand proudly co-founded by a woman, Häagen-Dazs is committed to honour this legacy to support and empower women at all levels. The 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 the everyday unsung heroes with 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.”
As part of Häagen-Dazs’ global commitment to empower and support women at all levels, the brand is pledging to support important women-centric charities across Asia and Europe, via bespoke Rose Project product bundles and Shops sales to be launched ahead of International Women’s Day. In the UK, a limited edition Rose Project Vanilla pint sold exclusively in Sainsbury’s will donate 50p per pint produced to the The Prince’s Trust Change a Girl’s Life campaign with a committed pledge of £20,000. In Taiwan, $10 (TWD) from each limited edition Rose Project mini-cup collection sold in retailers nationwide will be donated to The Awakening Foundation to support the organization and their mission. Finally in India, a portion of Häagen-Dazs Shops proceeds from the month of March will be donated to support the project Navjeevan initiative to help empower distressed women via BAIF Livelihoods.
On March 08, 2024, Häagen-Dazs will yet again offer a global free scoop giveaway as well as special promotions for its “Founder’s Favorite” Vanilla ice cream in celebration of Rose Mattus to consumers to mark International Women’s Day in select Häagen-Dazs Shops across Europe, Latin America and Asia.
For more information on the five winners of the Class of 2023 and their incredible stories, and for further details on how to nominate someone for The Rose Project Class of 2024, visit https://iwd.haagen-dazs.global/ or Instagram via @haagendazs_roseproject.
The global creative idea behind the Häagen-Dazs Rose Project has been conceptualized by Forsman & Bodenfors New York, with social content by BrandCrops Madrid with global project delivery and PR being managed by Capture Communications.
