Ever had to schlep out all the way to a faraway Ikea megastore just to get some perfectly cooked — and dirt-cheap — meatballs? Or some cinnamon buns? Or a smoked-salmon salad?
It can be a big hike for folks, especially those who don’t also plan on buying a FJÄLLBO coffee table or a HASVÅG mattress, which would justify the trip.
But things just may get easier for those aficionados of Swedish-ish fare.
The division of Ikea that handles food is doing well — so well, in fact, that the retail company is mulling an expansion into stand-alone cafés and eateries in city centers, Fast Company reports.
“This might sound odd, but it’s almost something we didn’t notice,” Michael La Cour, Ikea Food’s managing director, tells Fast Company. He’s talking about total sales for Ikea’s selection of edible items, which not only includes those famous meatballs with mashed potatoes and lingonberry jam, but also packaged items sold in its Swedish Food Market. “But when I started putting the numbers into context of other food companies, suddenly I could see, well, it really is not that small.”
In 2013, Ikea Food raked in roughly $1.5 billion in annual sales. In 2016, that figure rose to $1.8 billion. As a whole, Ikea brought in a cool $36.5 billion in revenue last year alone.
The reason for the spike? Reasons like streamlining supply chains and adding new menu items (chicken or vegan versions of the famed meatball, anyone?).
Though opening these separate food-serving locations in urban areas is merely a proposition, the company does have evidence that the concept is viable. In the last few years, Ikea has opened pop-up eateries in Oslo, Paris and London — and the results have been successful. Thirty percent of food customers head to Ikea just to eat, according to the retailer. Here in America, in-store restaurants have even been redesigned to accommodate more eaters.
“The mere fact that we don’t need so many square feet to do a café or a restaurant makes it interesting by itself,” La Cour tells Fast Company. “I firmly believe there is potential. I hope in a few years our customers will be saying, ‘Ikea is a great place to eat — and, by the way, they also sell some furniture.’ ”