Häagen-Dazs (US: /ˈhɑːɡəndæs/ HAH-gən-dass, UK: /ˌhɑːɡənˈdɑːz/ HAH-gən-DAHZ)[1] is an American ice cream brand, established by Reuben and Rose Mattus in the Bronx, New York, in 1960, owned by Froneri, a joint venture between Nestlé and PAI Partners.

In 1959, he decided to form a new ice cream company with what he thought to be a Danish-sounding name, Häagen-Dazs, as a tribute to Denmark's alleged exemplary treatment of Jews during World War II,[5] a move known in the marketing industry as foreign branding.

Rose Mattus would dress up in fancy clothing to distribute free samples, giving the ice cream an air of sophistication and class.

"Häagen-Dazs" is an invented pseudo-Scandinavian phrase coined by the American Reuben Mattus, in a quest for a brand name that he claimed was Danish-sounding.

[15] His daughter Doris Hurley reported in the 1996 PBS documentary An Ice Cream Show that her father sat at the kitchen table for hours saying nonsensical words until he came up with a combination he liked.

[16] Around 1988 Reuben Mattus gave an evening talk, "How to Build an Empire", at the Learning Annex in New York’s upper east side.

He wanted to differentiate his new product by using an invented exotic Scandinavian sounding name, Häagen-Dazs, and did not mention that this was related to Denmark helping Jews during the Holocaust.

In 1980, Häagen-Dazs unsuccessfully sued Frusen Glädjé, an American ice cream maker founded that year, for using foreign branding strategies.

It is marketed as a "super-premium" brand: it is quite dense (very little air is mixed in during manufacturing), uses no emulsifiers or stabilizers other than egg yolks, and has a high butterfat content.