Why Ikea's Swedish Meatballs Are So Inexpensive

Have you ever walked into an Ikea only to find yourself inexplicably heading toward the restaurant for some Swedish meatballs? If you have, you're not alone. According to Ikea, it sells more than 1 billion Swedish meatballs every year. That's a lot of meatballs for a store primarily known for its assemble-it-yourself furniture. If the meatballs are so delicious and so popular, why are they so inexpensive?

Like many other things in business, selling inexpensive meatballs is a strategy for the company to turn more profit. To sell their products, they need to get people in the door. To do that, they entice people with cheap meatballs. The hope is that a cheap and delicious meal will get people to come to Ikea and then once they're there, they'll get lost in the maze of a store and purchase a few other things along the way like Ikea's kitchen line.

In 1985, Ikea launched the iconic Swedish meatball. As with many great concoctions, necessity was the mother of invention. Before the Swedish meatball, Ikea's restaurants weren't doing so hot. They were struggling to be able to serve their customers quickly and smoothly. The company knew that something needed to change. Swedish chef Severin Sjöstedt, who created the Ikea meatball, said that they needed something affordable, tasty, and easy to serve. He even consulted with Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad during the 10 months he spent developing the recipe. Thus, the inexpensive Ikea Swedish meatball was born.

You can buy a 2.205-pound bag of Swedish meatballs (dubbed Huvudroll) for just $14.99, but the real draw is in the restaurant. There, you can get 10 meatballs for as little as $2.99, depending on your location. You can also purchase a Swedish meatball plate for $6.99, which includes meatballs, mashed potatoes, lingonberry jam, cream sauce, and a vegetable. Fueled with a nice meal, many people then wander the aisles and purchase furniture, decor, or other items from the store, playing into Ikea's genius plan. It's not the only delicious item in their restaurant, either; there are other highly-ranked Ikea restaurant items. This is similar to the strategy that Costco employs with their inexpensive rotisserie chicken, which the company loses money on.

Ikea's Swedish meatballs are a time-tested tradition as they've been around for almost 40 years. The Swedish meatball in general has been around for even longer, though. According to Sweden, the recipe came from King Charles XII in the 18th century, who brought the recipe back from Turkey. Any recipe that can stand the test of time for over 300 years is bound to be good.

As for Ikea's recipe, we know that chef Severin painstakingly spent 10 months developing the recipe until he thought it was perfect. It was perfect because the meatballs quickly became a crowd favorite. They're made of gently seasoned beef and pork and they're typically served with a lingonberry jam and cream sauce. The sauce adds moisture, flavor, and contrasting flavors. The recipe, which Ikea shared in 2020, also includes onion, garlic, breadcrumbs, an egg, milk, salt, and pepper. Since the original meatball was launched, Ikea has also catered to additional tastes, adding a chicken meatball, a vegetarian meatball, a moose meatball, a salmon ball, and a plant-based ball. Regardless of which version you choose, one thing remains true; Ikea's inexpensive meatballs do an excellent job of getting people into the store.