Ikea considers separate restaurants

Ikea restaurants’ increasing popularity has empowered the chain’s idea to create restaurants away from their traditional location, inside a furniture store. Ikea Food is one of the Swedish group’s fastest growing divisions.

Way to sell

The restaurants used to be a way to sell more furniture in the stores, because if a customer is happy and spends more time in the store, they may actually decide to buy something right then and there. Only recently has Ikea noticed the potential its restaurants have.

Its product range was expanded and healthy food became more important, making food one of the fastest growing divisions within the company. That only came to light recently, because its turnover was only relatively small. Ikea sells 650 million meals every year, worth 1.7 billion euro in 2016, a small amount compared to the company’s total turnover at 34.2 billion euro.

30 % only comes to eat

That prompted Ikea Food’s expansion, with more dishes, a focus on sustainability and healthy food. Prices were also kept low, but without lowering the quality. Ever since Ikea implemented that new strategy, Ikea Food’s turnover grew 8 % every year. 30 % of Ikea’s customers even says the restaurant is the only reason for their visit.

The company is now considering an actual Ikea restaurant chain, in city centers. That would give Ikea a far larger customer reach than what it is able to attract with its major furniture stores in the suburbs.