What You Don’t Know About IKEA Meatballs

IKEA is known to be a furniture store. However, did you know that their best selling product doesn’t actually have anything to do with furniture at all? Think about it. How many times have you gone to IKEA, and how many times have you actually walked out with a piece of furniture?

Although a lot of people admittedly go there to eventually buy furniture; chances are that most of the time, you are just there to browse and look around first before you finally decide and go back to buy something. What you most likely do buy there every single time you visit, though, is their meatballs.

People love IKEA’s Swedish meatballs. In fact, a few months back when Covid-19 was still in its earlier stages, netizens went completely crazy when IKEA released a recipe on Twitter on how to make their famous meatballs from home. 

This recipe allowed people to make, experience, and taste their famous meatballs without having to leave their homes. If not you, your friends have probably tried cooking them at home at some point to find out if they actually shared the real recipe with the world or to get a taste of the meatballs that they miss.

How famous are IKEA’s meatballs?

According to lovemoney.com, IKEA sells 150 million meatballs every year. Their bestselling furniture product, on the other hand, has been sold 110 million times since it was offered to the public four decades ago. This piece of furniture is the Billy bookcase system, which is considered to be the most commercially successful modern furniture piece out there.

110 million pieces in four decades versus 150 million pieces every year? That’s quite something. That means that IKEA has sold more than a billion meatballs so far, which is 22 times more than the Billy bookcase system every year.

Looking at these statistics from a marketing and business standpoint is quite amazing. How can a furniture store be more successful at selling food than at selling furniture?

Why does IKEA sell meatballs?

So why does a furniture store sell food to begin with? Ingvar Kamprad, the founder of IKEA, believes that customers should never be hungry. He hypothesises that if people are hungry while browsing, they will most likely get distracted by their hunger and focus less on shopping. Conversely, if customers are full and satisfied, they will be able to stay longer, shop longer, and potentially buy more products.

Gerd Diewald, who runs the food operations for IKEA in the US, agrees with this. He says, “When you feed, they stay longer, they can talk about their purchases, and they make a decision without leaving the store.”

IKEA first tested this theory when they opened cafes in their stores back in 1958. Seeing its success, it remains a part of their core strategy up to this day. 

Aside from offering food, IKEA also has a goal of offering the cheapest meal in the vicinity of their store, even if they have to sell their food products at a loss. As a loss leader, this particular strategy enforces cheap prices into people’s minds and makes those people who aren’t aware of the brand yet more likely to convert.

How does this work for IKEA?

Well, if you buy a cheap meal at IKEA and they make a loss from the food, but you end up buying furniture in the end; this will definitely offset any loss of revenue they may have garnered from the food that you bought. It’s actually pretty smart if you think about it – and it clearly works, too.

See, even if people buy food and don’t buy furniture, IKEA still gains good marketing for it that could lead to potential purchases in the future. People will remember how cheap the food is at IKEA and won’t hesitate to go back for more food or to turn to them for their future home item purchases.

It goes without saying, though, that this only works for IKEA because they have the money for it.

Should you look into Business Fusion?

As important as branding, targeting, and consistency might be; IKEA’s sales is showing that stepping out of their comfort zone and into business fusion might actually work. This would be important to keep in mind right now since many businesses are shifting to the digital world in order to adapt to our world today.

Some businesses have even added complementing services to their arsenal in order to make more revenue. IKEA is a furniture store with a restaurant. Convenience stores now double as post offices. Some supermarkets have photo services, and even bookstores have incorporated cafes into their establishments. Every business is working extra hard to satisfy their customer’s wants and needs, and to gain loyal patrons. This secret marketing strategy is one that you might want to look into yourself.

The article was written by Soon Koon.