The birth stories of brand names are sometimes very interesting. For example, the story of Häagen-Dazs:
Häagen-Dazs is an ice cream brand that is very common especially in America. Although the name sounds Scandinavian, this is not actually the case. Reuben Mattus, the creator of Häagen-Dazs, was a Jewish immigrant living in the United States and had come to the United States from Poland. Together with his wife, they wanted to create a name that sounded Scandinavian, and Häagen-Dazs was formed. The purpose of the couple in creating a name that looks like Scandinavian is; II. They want to praise Denmark, the only country that defended the Jewish people during World War II. That's why Danish letters were used for the brand. They also wanted to add a little more exotic flair with an unconventional name because their ice cream was so successful. The couple were confident that the name they came up with would give the product a more distinctive profile.
Häagen-Dazs is an American ice cream brand, established by Reuben and Rose Mattus in The Bronx, New York, in 1960. Starting with only three flavors: vanilla, chocolate, and coffee, the company opened its first retail store in Brooklyn, New York, on November 15, 1976. The company operates worldwide and also produces ice cream bars, ice cream cakes, sorbet, frozen yogurt, and gelato.
One winter day in 1959, Reuben Mattus, who was sitting on a chair in the kitchen of his house and muttering meaningless words for hours, was scribbling names that he liked on a piece of paper among the bewildered eyes of his daughter Doris. Reuben was born in 1912 in Belarus. When his father died in the war, he immigrated to the United States with his mother and sister in 1921.
It was the late 1920s when the family started making ice cream in Brooklyn. The name of the firm was “Senator Frozen Products”. Reuben spent his youth delivering ice cream in Brooklyn neighborhoods in a horse-drawn carriage. When he could not compete with mass-produced ice cream shops in the 1950s, Mattus, who took over the business completely from his mother, decided to create a new ice cream brand that would stand out with its taste and quality.
Both I and II. Born to a Jewish family who lived close to World War II, Mattus wanted to give his new brand a name that would be perceived as Scandinavian in order to both pay homage to Denmark, which treated Jews well during World War II, and to benefit from this country's famous dairy products and quality image. He also set a rule for himself: This name would be unique, it would not be similar, so it would have no meaning.
In 1959, in that Brooklyn kitchen, only one name remained on the paper that was not crossed out: Häagen-Dazs.
If there is a lesson to be learned from this story, it is that we do not have to give brands the task of telling the work done. The fact that the brand has a story and that it is supported with a logo that will create the feeling we want is enough to be the first step to success.
December 2000
Swiss Nestle, one of the world's largest food companies, took action to fully own the ice cream producer Haagen Dazs. Nestle, which owned 50 percent of the Dazs company in 2000, sacrificed $ 650 million for the remaining 50 percent. The Swiss company and Haagen Dazs merged their ice cream business in the US in 1999 and became the third in the market with sales of $600 million. Nestle officials stated that they plan to sit on the throne of Unilever, the leader of the US ice cream market, with the purchase.
December 2019
Nestle, which owns the rights of the Häagen-Dazs brand in the USA, sold its entire ice cream business in this country to Froneri for $4 billion. Froneri was formed in 2016 through the merger of Nestle's European ice cream unit and R&R. This sale was the last step of the big 'portfolio change' at Nestle.
Nestle owned the US rights to the Häagen-Dazs brand. Therefore, with this sale, Häagen-Dazs in the USA also changed hands. However, the rights of the brand outside the USA belong to the General Mills company.
Nestle put its cold meat brand Herta up for sale at the beginning of 2019, and sold its skin care division to a consortium led by EQT Partners for CHF 10.2 billion.
The History of Haagen-Dazs
https://www.icecream.com/us/en/brands/haagen-dazs/about/our-history