When IKEA
decided to sell food, it chose to do it in much the same way it sells
furniture: a few standardized staples, sold in large quantities. The
result: 150 million meatballs.
Meatballs are on the menu at an IKEA in Stockholm, shown—and around the world.
Ellen Emmerentze Jervell for The Wall Street Journal
That is the number IKEA
estimates will be dished out in store cafeterias this year. Though the
Swedish company is better known for its inexpensive, assembly-required
furniture, its IKEA Food division is a behemoth, rivaling Panera Bread
and Arby's, with nearly $2 billion in annual revenue. The company
estimates about 700 million people this year will eat in one of the
cafeterias that are located in 300 IKEA stores world-wide.
Sören Hullberg a former IKEA manager who was tasked
with creating a menu, is part-owner of the Story Hotel brand.
Story Hotels
The food push started nearly 30 years
ago, when then-store manager Sören Hullberg drew the assignment to
create a food department. IKEA's frugal founder, Ingvar Kamprad, was
worried that too many shoppers were browsing the company's shelves on
empty stomachs. IKEAs are huge, and visitors can get fatigued after
walking the floor for hours at a time. Mr. Hullberg said he was told to
come up with a plan that would be thoroughly Swedish and in line with
the company's penny-pinching ways.
The solution? Salmon, roast beef, smoked reindeer steak and Sweden's beloved meatballs. Stores in each country were also allowed to choose one type of local fare to spice up the menu. (Swedes like their native söndagsteak or shrimp.) These basics were designed to be the bedrock ingredient of any dish IKEA served, whether a salad, a sandwich or a starter. The menu has evolved over the years, and individual stores can make some decisions, but generally, the offerings are tightly limited. Read More.
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