Haagan-Dazs

Entrepreneur

Name:	Reuben Mattus
Gender:	Male
Birth Year:	1912
Relationship Status:	Married
Current/Latest Employer:	Mattus IceCream Company
Previous Address(es):	Crestkill, NJ  USA - 1994

Picture of Product

A brief introduction of how the business started

Reuben Mattus, a young entrepreneur with a passion for quality and a vision for creating the finest ice cream, worked in his mother's ice cream business selling fruit ice and ice cream pops from a horse drawn wagon in the bustling streets of the Bronx, New York. To produce the finest ice cream available, he insisted on using only the finest, purest ingredients.

The family business grew and prospered throughout the 1930's, 40's and 50's, and by 1961 Mr. Mattus decided to form a new company dedicated to his ice cream vision. He called his new brand Häagen-Dazs, to convey an aura of the old-world traditions and craftsmanship to which he remained dedicated.

Häagen-Dazs started out with only three flavors: vanilla, chocolate and coffee. But Mr. Mattus' passion for quality soon took him to the four corners of the globe. His unique ice cream recipes included dark chocolate from Belgium and hand-picked vanilla beans from Madagascar, creating distinctive and indulgent taste experiences.

The Häagen-Dazs brand quickly developed a loyal following. Its early success was created by word of mouth and praise. Without the benefit of advertising the story of an incredibly rich and creamy confection spread rapidly. At first, it was only available at gourmet shops in New York City, but soon distribution expanded throughout the east coast of the U.S., and by 1973 Häagen-Dazs® products were enjoyed by discerning customers throughout the United States. Then in 1976, Mr. Mattus' daughter Doris opened the first Häagen-Dazs® shop. It was an immediate success, and its popularity led to a rapid expansion of Häagen-Dazs shops across the country.

In 1983 Mr. Mattus agreed to sell Häagen-Dazs to The Pillsbury Company, which remained committed to the tradition of superior quality and innovation on which Häagen-Dazs was founded. Since then, it has become a global phenomenon, available in 54 countries. But the same careful attention to quality that Reuben Mattus built into every Häagen-Dazs® product, remains today. Ice Cream lovers the world over now recognize the unique Häagen-Dazs logo as synonymous with the ultimate super-premium ice cream.

Since the beginning, Häagen-Dazs has sought to innovate and bring new frozen dessert experiences to its customers, including distinctive flavors such as Vanilla Swiss Almond, Butter Pecan and Dulce de Leche to name just a few. Häagen-Dazs was also the first to introduce the world to ice cream bars for a grown up palate, with the introduction of the Häagen-Dazs® ice cream bar line in 1986. Other super premium innovations followed, with Frozen Yogurt in 1991 and Sorbet in 1993.

To this day, Häagen-Dazs remains committed to developing exceptional new super-premium frozen dessert experiences, releasing new flavors every year.

Brief description of products/services/business concepts.

In 1980, Häagen-Dazs unsuccessfully sued Frusen Glädjé, an ice cream maker, whose name without the acute accent is Swedish for "frozen delight".

Häagen-Dazs was bought by Pillsbury in 1983. General Mills bought Pillsbury in 2001. However, in the United States and Canada, Häagen-Dazs products are produced by Nestlé subsidiary Dreyer's, which acquired the rights as part of the General Mills-Pillsbury deal. The brand name is still owned by General Mills but is licensed to Nestlé in the US and Canada.

To offset increasing costs of their ingredients and the delivery of the product, Häagen-Dazs announced that in January 2009 it would be reducing the size of their ice cream cartons in the US from 16 US fl oz (470 ml) to 14 US fl oz (410 ml). Additionally they announced that in March 2009 they would be shrinking the 32 US fl oz (950 ml) containers to 28 US fl oz (830 ml). In response, Ben & Jerry's said that they would not be changing the sizes of their cartons.

Achievements

From Paris to Tokyo to Rio de Janeiro, Häagen-Dazs is an international phenomenon. Appreciated by connoisseurs in over 900 Häagen-Dazs Shops in 50 countries, our commitment to unparalled quality, using only the finest natural ingredients from around the world, sets the standard to which others aspire.

How the product got its name

The name Häagen-Dazs does not derive from any of the North Germanic languages; it is simply two made-up words meant to look Scandinavian to American eyes (despite the fact that the digraphs "äa" and "zs" are not part of any native words in any of the Scandinavian languages). This practice is known in the marketing industry as foreign branding. Mattus thought that Denmark was known for its dairy products and had a positive image in the U.S. He included an outline map of Denmark on early labels, as well as the name of Copenhagen.

Daughter Doris Hurley reported in the PBS documentary An Ice Cream Show (1999) that her father Reuben Mattus sat at the kitchen table for hours saying nonsensical words until he came up with a combination he liked. The reason he chose this method was so that the name would be unique and original.

The playful spelling devices in the name evoke the spelling systems used in several European countries. Another example of this branding is the renaming of the Teatro Calderón in Madrid, Spain, to Teätro Häagen-Dazs Calderón.

Double vowels are common in Dutch, but the use of the umlaut is not common in that context. The umlaut in the title would suggest an A sound like that in "cat". The word "haagen" would roughly translate to "Of The Hague". The word "Dazs" cannot be translated, and the "zs" combination is only found in Hungarian.

Unique Features for Haagan

Uses no emulsifiers or stabilizers other than egg yolks, and has high-butterfat content. Häagen-Dazs is also meant to be kept at a temperature that is substantially lower than most ice creams in order to keep its intended firmness. It is sold both in grocery stores and in dedicated retail outlets serving ice cream cones, sundaes, and so on

Key Factors contributing to the success of the business

Innovation has been a key ingredient in the Haagen-Dazs success story. On Valentine’s Day Eve 1986, Haagan-Dazs unveiled an ice-creambar for adult tastes. In 1996, after years of testing and sampling, the brand lauched Haagan-Dazs Green Tea ice-cream, the taste modeled on a select variety of green tea that’s been savored in Japanese tea ceremonies for centuries. More recently, Haagan-Dazs Crispy Sandwich was introduced to Europe in 2004.

That creativity also is highlighting in shops around the world, where carefully crafted ice-cream- almost beautiful to eat-are featured each and every day. Not surprisingly, word-of-mouth passion for Haagan-Dazs has been strong from the beginning. When the first Haagan-Dazs Shop opened in 1976, it was an immediate success. International expansion followed six years later.

Now sold at retail and in more than 900 Haagan-Dazs Shops in 50 countries, Haagan-Dazs ice-cream is savored around the world. Decades come and go, but Haagan remains true to its passionate commitment to quality, creativity and, above all else, taste.