Ikea launches Swedish meatball-scented candles to mark anniversary

It's a smell you're more likely to find wafting around the canteen of the popular homeware giant than your living room.

But, in a bid to help customers recreate the ambience of its food-hall favourite, Ikea has created a candle fragranced like its famed Swedish meatballs.

The retailer has launched the Huvudroll candle, scented in homage to its bestselling dish, to mark the 10th anniversary of its Ikea Family, a free loyalty scheme in its US stores that offers customers rewards.

The candle will be included in Ikea's limited-edition Store in a Box gift pack, available to Family Program members, which means fans outside the US will sadly not be able to get their hands on the meatball-scented memorabilia.

"For many people, one of the first things that comes to mind when they think of Ikea is their delicious and affordable Swedish meatballs,” Sho Matsuzaki, creative director at Ogilvy, told the New York Post.

“So for the Ikea Family 10-year anniversary, we thought it would be fitting to create something unexpected that our Family members and meatball super-fans would love. And yes, it does very much smell like Ikea meatballs.”

The Store in a Box package also contains a number of other yet-to-be-revealed items that replicate the sensory experience of visiting Ikea.

US customers must enter a prize draw to win the gift box, with 986 Store in a Box packages up for grabs, according to the retailer's website. Another 1,925 runners-up will receive the Huvudroll candle, with entries open from Friday until Sunday, August 22.

Ikea has not yet revealed if the limited-edition candles would be rolled out in other stores across the world.

The brand's meatballs, first launched in 1985, are traditionally served with mashed potato, lingonberry jam and cream sauce at its in-store cafes.

Ikea launched a vegan alternative to the dish – "plant balls" made using yellow pea protein, oats, apples, onions and potatoes – at stores across the UAE last year. The retailer also revealed the recipe behind its meatballs in April 2020, so fans staying home amid the pandemic could duplicate the dish in their own kitchen.