Haagen-Dazs(R) Ice Cream Announces New Partnerships For Haagen-Dazs Loves Honey Bees(TM) Campaign Ice Cream Brand Extends Commitment by Teaming with Organizations Dedicated to Saving Stressed Honey Bee Population

OAKLAND, Calif., June 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Just three months after the Haagen-Dazs brand announced its national Haagen-Dazs loves Honey Bees(TM) program and its pledge to donate 50,000 to Pennsylvania State University and the University of California, Davis, to fund sustainable pollination and Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) research, the ice cream brand is following in the apiary tradition of teamwork and announcing several new and notable partnerships with organizations that share the goal of helping honey bees.

The Haagen-Dazs brand has partnered with Pollinator.org, an organization dedicated to preserving the health of honey bees and native pollinators in the U.S. The two organizations will host an "Ice Cream Social on the Hill" in Washington, D.C. during National Pollinator Week June 22-28 to keep honey bees and America's hardworking and struggling beekeepers top-of-mind for legislators and decision makers.

Also during Pollinator Week, the brand is partnering with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums to provide educational materials and host a sampling event featuring Haagen-Dazs Vanilla Honey Bee ice cream at the Smithsonian (Washington D.C) and Dallas (Texas) zoos.

The Haagen-Dazs brand will also be spreading its wings in the fashion community as a sponsor of the A NEW HIVE art installation hosted by Earnest Sewn, taking place at Earnest Sewn's flagship store in New York City, July 2008. The installation will draw New York's attention to the plight of the honey bees via sculpture, drawing, limited edition accessories, bee-culture inspired conceptual fashions, curated antiques and live specimens. Haagen- Dazs ice cream will be sampling the new Haagen-Dazs Vanilla Honey Bee ice cream flavor and donating educational materials and bee-friendly flower seed packets to attendees and boutique patrons. Proceeds from the event will establish new beehives in New York City public gardens and support educational programs on the importance of bees and the art of beekeeping, as well as research to support sustainable beekeeping practices.

Haagen-Dazs ice cream is also a sponsor of "The Vanishing of the Bees," a work-in-progress documentary that takes an investigative look at the bee crisis. For more information about the documentary please visit http://www.vanishingbees.com/trailer.html.

"We've been overwhelmed with calls and emails in support of the HD loves HB program," said Haagen-Dazs brand director Katty Pien. "We knew honey bee health was important, and it's heartwarming to see how this program has touched a cord with so many people and organizations. These new partnerships have helped us continue to spread the word and educate thousands of people about the plight of the honey bee. Each of these organizations is doing great work in their own right and together we can really make a difference."

Haagen-Dazs Ice Cream Sets Goal to Distribute One Million Bee-Friendly Flower Seeds

Honey bees in America are still in trouble. The Apiary Inspectors of America recently commissioned a survey of U.S. beekeepers to estimate colony losses across the country between September 2007 and 2008, and reported a 14 percent increase in total losses as compared to last year.

To maintain healthy environments for these important pollinators, the Haagen-Dazs brand is working with community groups throughout the U.S. to distribute one million bee-friendly flower seeds. To date, the Haagen-Dazs brand's million seeds initiative has distributed more than 350,000 seeds and empowered a number of communities to take action in the fight to save the honey bees. If you'd like to help the Haagen-Dazs brand reach its million seed goal, email or call Jon Bellinger at (312) 228-6894 or hdloveshb@gmail.com.

Consumers can do their part to help the honey bee population by doing the following:

-- Create a bee-friendly garden with plants that attract honey bees. -- Educate neighbors, schools and community groups about the severe situation the honey bees and our food supply are facing. -- Support beekeepers by purchasing locally produced honey. -- Reduce herbicide and pesticide use. -- Help researchers find a solution to CCD and other problems honey bees face by donating funds to leading universities like Penn State University and UC Davis.

For full details on how the Haagen-Dazs brand is helping honey bees and how you can take part, please visit http://www.helpthehoneybees.com/.

About Haagen-Dazs

Crafted in 1961 by Reuben Mattus in his family's dairy, Haagen-Dazs is the original superpremium ice cream. True to tradition, we are committed to using only the purest ingredients in crafting the world's finest ice cream. Truly made like no other, today Haagen-Dazs ice cream offers a full range of products from ice cream to sorbet, frozen yogurt and frozen snacks in more than 65 flavors. Haagen-Dazs products are available around the globe for ice cream lovers to enjoy. For more information, please visit http://www.haagen-dazs.com/.

(C) HDIP, Inc.

Haagen-Dazs

CONTACT: Diane McIntyre of Haagen-Dazs, 1-510-601-4338,
dmmcinty@dreyers.com; or Rita Gorenberg of Ketchum, 1-415-984-6228,
rita.gorenberg@ketchum.com

Web site: http://www.helpthehoneybees.com/
http://www.haagen-dazs.com/
http://www.vanishingbees.com/trailer.html

Comments

[Josh]

It's nice to see that even ice cream can make a difference. Keep up the good work!