Gourmet Food

Häagen-Dazs The Rose Project Nominations Sought by July 31

Published July 29, 2024

The Häagen-Dazs Rose Project reveals powerful judging panel, to select winners of $100,000 bursary for #WomenWhoDontHoldBack

On International Women’s Day 2024, Häagen-Dazs announced the first five recipients of the $100,000 Rose Project bursary grant and reopened nominations for the second year of the global initiative. The pioneering efforts and societal contributions of trailblazing, unsung women from around the world have once again been put forward, and with days left until the closing date for nominations, Häagen-Dazs named a judging panel before the next selection stage for The Rose Project commences including:

Alejandra Orozco Loza, double Olympic medalist in diving from Mexico will be joining the panel this year. She has overcome a multitude of hurdles and has harnessed these experiences to motivate and empower young women
Katie Piper, United Kingdom-based author, broadcaster and philanthropist, is returning to the panel for a second year
Aurélie Lory, Häagen-Dazs Shops global managing director, will once again represent the brand and celebrate its pledge to honour womens’ accomplishments

Former Indian tennis champion and phenomenon Sania Mirza also joins the incredible women as a global ambassador for The Rose Project.

Handpicked for their own impactful achievements and epitomising Häagen-Dazs’ ‘Don’t Hold Back’ ethos, The Rose Project judging panelists are dedicated, uplifting, and representative of the global nature of the initiative. The judges will utilise their experience and passion to work together and will review the nominations received to select five worthy honourees of the $100,000 bursary grant. To find out more about The Rose Project Judging Panel 2024, visit https://iwd.haagen-dazs.global/en/jury/.

Häagen-Dazs launched The Rose Project on International Women’s Day 2023 to recognize unsung trailblazing women in honor of the brand’s unsung female co-founder Rose Mattus. Nominations for the global initiative are open for just one more week until July 31, and can be submitted via https://iwd.haagen-dazs.global/en/. Häagen-Dazs invites nominations for ambitious women who have an unwavering dedication to their work or project, and deserve to be recognised and celebrated.

Aurélie Lory says: “We are delighted to continue celebrating our iconic female co-founder, Rose Mattus, by recognizing the achievements of inspiring and deserving women from all corners of the globe with The Häagen-Dazs Rose Project. It is an honor to have a stellar panel of influential women on board who are trailblazers within their respective fields and embody Rose’s influence. We are confident that Katie, Sania, and Alejandra will help us select five worthy winners to receive an equal share of this year’s $100,000 bursary grant. We can’t wait to continue championing the stories of unsung female heroes.”

To share an inspirational story and nominate someone for The Rose Project, visit https://iwd.haagen-dazs.global/en/ and ‘Nominate now’ before the closing date of July 31.

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Ore-Ida, GoodPop Team to Create Fudge n’ Vanilla French Fry Pop

Published July 22, 2024

There’s nothing quite as mouthwatering as dipping a salty and crispy French fry into a cold and creamy milkshake. In fact, when surveyed, it is one of America’s most popular food combinations.1 Inspired by this delicious behavior, the Ore-Ida and GoodPop brands launch the Fudge n’ Vanilla French Fry Pop, a first-of-its-kind frozen treat that offers the iconic sweet and salty combination fans are craving. The limited-edition offering is available nationwide.

The crave-worthy Fudge n’ Vanilla French Fry Pop wraps a vanilla oatmilk frozen base in a rich, chocolate fudge shell rolled in real, crispy potato bits. The collaboration creates an all-in-one, mess-free offering that is sure to delight French fry and ice cream lovers across the country.

“For over 70 years, Ore-Ida has offered Americans delicious and crispy French fries in the comfort of their homes,” says Jackie Britva, senior hrand manager for Ore-Ida at The Kraft Heinz Company. “Nothing says summer quite like the sweet and salty combo of a fry dipped in a milkshake, but fans often have to go to a restaurant to enjoy the summertime staple. In partnership with GoodPop, we put a unique and convenient spin on the American classic, bringing it to home freezers everywhere. Put simply, we dipped it, so our fans don’t have to.”

“At GoodPop, we love creating cleaned-up versions of classic treats. With this seasonal collaboration, we hope to rekindle that child-like joy of summer, with a decidedly modern twist,” says Daniel Goetz, CEO and Founder of GoodPop. “As always, GoodPop’s goal is to elevate expectations for nostalgic favorites, so these Fudge n’ Vanilla French Fry Pops are dairy and gluten free, fit for all families to enjoy.”

Take a dip into the extraordinary with this one-of-a-kind treat, which is only available while supplies last. The Ore-Ida x GoodPop Fudge n’ Vanilla French Fry Pops will be available for nationwide shipping at https://goodpop.com/buy-online/fudge-n-vanilla-french-fry-pops/ for $9.99 per pack of four pops.

For more information, follow @Oreida and @GoodPop on Instagram and @oreidapotatoes and @GoodPop on TikTok.

The Kraft Heinz Company is inspired by Purpose, Let’s Make Life Delicious. With 2023 net sales of approximately $27 billion, it is committed to growing our iconic and emerging food and beverage brands on a global scale. It leverages its scale and agility to unleash the full power of Kraft Heinz across a portfolio of eight consumer-driven product platforms. As a global citizen, it is dedicated to making a sustainable, ethical impact while helping feed the world in healthy, responsible ways.

Since 2009, GoodPop has been on a mission to clean up the classic treats consumers are nostalgic for by offering better-for-you frozen pops and bubbly beverages made of real ingredients with less sugar and nothing artificial. Its delicious and wholesome products are genuinely good, inside and out. From the high-quality ingredients it ethically sources to take care of partners and planet, it exists to give back to our communities one treat—and good deed—at a time. GoodPop products come in 20+ delicious flavors and are available nationwide at Whole Foods, Sprouts, Publix, Walmart, Kroger, Costco and more.

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Refresco Acquires Plant-Based Drinks Maker Frías

Published July 22, 2024

Refresco, a global independent beverage solutions provider for retailers and global, national, and emerging (GNE) brands in Europe, North America and Australia, has entered into an agreement to acquire Frías Nutrición from Alantra Private Equity and the founding family. This transaction is subject to regulatory approval.

Frías is a leading manufacturer of plant-based drinks with a production facility located in Burgos, Spain and employs around 250 people. Frías produces private label plant-based drinks, including almond, rice, hazelnut, and soy drinks, for key Spanish retailers and beyond.

CEO Refresco, Hans Roelofs, commented: “As part of our proven Buy & Build strategy, we are looking to expand our capabilities in existing and adjacent beverage categories. The acquisition of Frías significantly strengthens our position in the fast-growing plant-based drinks category. It complements our existing footprint in Spain with a production facility solely dedicated to plant-based products.

“In addition, acquiring Frías enables us to further expand our service offering to retailers and branded customers and retailers across Europe, accelerates our product innovation capabilities in the plant-based drinks category, and underscores our ability to capture opportunities in the market.”

Bruno Delgado-Luque, partner ,Alantra Private Equity, added: “Since we acquired Frías in 2019, the company has been on a remarkable growth trajectory, confirming its leadership position in the Iberian Peninsula, and expanding its international business. Together with the Frías family, we launched a major investment plan that resulted in the creation of one of the most modern and efficient plant-based drinks factories in Europe. We are confident that Frías has a bright future ahead and will continue its successful growth with the support of Refresco.”

Transaction highlights

The transaction is subject to regulatory approval.
Closing of the transaction is expected later this year.
The financial terms of the transaction are not disclosed.

Refresco is the global independent beverage solutions provider for retailers and global, national and emerging brands with production in Europe, North America and Australia. Refresco offers an extensive range of product and packaging combinations from juices to carbonated soft drinks and mineral waters in carton, PET, Aseptic PET, cans and glass. Refresco continuously searches for new and alternative ways to improve the quality of its products and packaging combinations in line with consumer and customer demand, environmental responsibilities and market demand. Refresco is headquartered in Rotterdam, the Netherlands and has more than 14,500 employees.

Alantra Private Equity is a pioneer in the Iberian private equity market with more than 30 years of experience and investments of c. €2.0bn. It has a unique and proven track record in the food and beverage, healthcare, and industrial technology sectors throughout different economic cycles. Since 1990, Alantra Private Equity has led investments in more than 120 assets (60 platforms and 65 add-ons) and has completed more than 50 exits.

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