My WTF moment from last week was learning that IKEA is the world's 6th largest restaurant chain.

This was confirmed all the way back in 2019. Sharing a few facts from IKEA's own website & other sources:

(1) IKEA serves 2 million meatballs daily (a product they launched in the 1980s in store)

(2) F&B is 6% of IKEA's global revenue (~$2.5bn) and they run this on a fixed profit margin (~10%)

(3) Their F&B biz is growing 8% per annum

(4) 700 million customers eat in IKEA each year (not unique, includes duplicates)

(5) ~30% of IKEA footfalls are primarily for food & NOT furniture shopping!

I've been an IKEA customer since 2015 when I first moved to the UK. It was a strange experience walking through 5 stories of a castle size building full of home products.

I used to love the cafe in their superstore in Coventry (also had veg options, so my mom could also eat there). I've never been to an IKEA store to just eat, but I do know a bunch of my friends who have done this!

➡️ Per IKEA's founder: "It's difficult to do business with someone on an empty stomach. This single sentence encapsulates the entire retail business in a nutshell.