IKEA to encourage extra wholesome and sustainable meals selections
IKEA is taking the next step to make healthy and sustainable food more affordable and desirable for many people
As one of the world's largest food suppliers IKEA is taking the next step to make healthy and sustainable food more affordable and desirable for many people. By adding more options to the menu in its restaurants that are both more nutritious and delicious, the company hopes to make healthier, more sustainable choices.
New IKEA food commitments announced in the context of a previous event to the UN Food Systems Summit in 2021, including until 2025: 50% of main meals served in restaurants are plant-based and 80% non-red meat; 80% of all packaged food is plant-based, and 80% of all main meals served in restaurants meet the IKEA standard for balanced meals for healthier foods.
In 2019, over 680 million customers experienced the IKEA food range in restaurants, bistros and Swedish food markets. As a global company, IKEA has a huge responsibility – and opportunity – to make a positive difference and promote healthier, more sustainable lives.
Today, people with thin purses have the hardest time affording healthy and sustainable products and services. A recent study of 27,000 people in 27 countries confirmed that three out of four people would like to significantly reduce their impact on the environment and a significant number of meat eaters would be willing to switch to plant-based alternatives if they taste equally good and are the same price and Nutritional value.
The survey also showed that companies play an important role in realizing consumer thoughts and values by making sustainable options more affordable.
“IKEA wants to make healthy and sustainable choices the most desirable option, for example by showing that plant-based foods can be really delicious. Research confirms the importance of making sustainable products affordable and desirable, and IKEA can really make a positive difference here. The more sustainable choice shouldn't be a luxury for the few. It should be part of people's everyday life, ”says Lena Pripp-Kovac, Chief Sustainability Officer at the Inter IKEA Group.
The traditional meatball stays on the menu. In recent years, however, IKEA has set a goal of creating more delicious, affordable, plant-based options and challenging the meat symbols. Examples of these include the vegetable ball, a chicken ball, a vegetable hot dog, and a salmon ball.
The most recent example is the HUVUDROLL plant ball – a more sustainable option for many meatball lovers that has just 4% of the climatic footprint of the traditional meatball without compromising taste and texture.
According to recent science, eating less red meat and more fruits and vegetables is good for both people and the planet. The food system today accounts for 25 to 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and a significant proportion comes from animal production.
“A truly sustainable food system needs to be based on delicious, nutritious and responsibly produced food. IKEA takes a comprehensive value chain approach to contributing to sustainable food systems, from sourcing materials responsibly, to reducing food waste along the value chain, to circular and more sustainable packaging and utilizing the reach of IKEA to provide as many healthy and sustainable food options as possible Make available to people as possible. “, Says Peter van der Poel, Managing Director of IKEA in Sweden and Manager of IKEA Range & Supply.
IKEA has already started this journey sensibly. More plant-based and healthier food options continue to be phased out in IKEA restaurants and Swedish grocery stores.
