IKEA bosses are preparing for a busy year – and what that will mean for the stores’ beloved meatballs.
Jesper Brodin, the CEO of Ingka, the retailer that operates almost all IKEA stores, said the brand is “optimistic” about 2025.
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Like many retailers, the flatpack furniture store is finding its feet in the wake of the Covid pandemic, but it’s now gearing up for the return of customers to flock to the in-store restaurant.
“I have never experienced in my life an era with opportunities like now,” the 56-year-old told The Financial Times.
“Interest rates are coming down and people’s appetite for spending is going up. There is a huge pent-up demand for making homes better.”
He added that IKEA was preparing itself for an “increase in demand”, adding not just for smaller items like the world-famous Swedish meatballs, but large kitchen and bathroom appliances and furniture.
IKEA has been serving its own version of the classic meatball for nearly 40 years.
In 1985, Swedish chef Serverin Sjöstedt created a meatball that was affordable and easy to serve.
According to the Ikea website, after “10 months of tireless testing and tasting, the IKEA meatball was born”.
More than one billion are sold globally every year and there are now chicken, salmon, vegan and vegetarian options.
Last year the retailer opened two standalone restaurants in the London – and of course, the meatballs were on the menu.
The first is on King Street, next to IKEA’s Hammersmith store and the second is nestled in leafy Greenwich.
In the Hammersmith City branch, customers are faced with self-service screens where they can order their food before heading to collect it at counters ahead of them.
There’s also a coffee station with stairs to the left guiding famished shoppers upstairs to the main seating area.
The whole spot is littered with little nods to Ikea stores too, including Swedish text on the walls and wood tables and storage containers.
Shoppers can choose from a range of iconic Swedish dishes at the new restaurant including eight meatballs with mashed potato, peas, cream sauce and lingonberry jam for £5.50.
Foodies can also snap the same dish but with plant-based meatballs for £4.95.
Also on the menu is penne pasta with tomato and basil sauce for £2.95, battered haddock, chips and peas for £6.95 and salmon with cous cous and yoghurt for £6.95.
Parents with kids can also pick up children’s pasta with tomato sauce, soft drink and piece of fruit for just 95p.
There are also two breakfast options on offer – a small cooked breakfast and a regular version.
The first comes with bacon, sausage, hash brown, omelette, baked beans and tomato for £2.75.
The regular option has two slices of bacon, two sausages, two hash browns, omelette, baked beans and tomato for £3.75.
Breakfast is served until 11am each morning when the main day menu takes over.
The restaurant is open from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday, 9am to 8pm on Saturday and 9am to 4.30pm on Sunday.
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