IKEA presents vegan Köttbullar
IKEA launches plant-based pea protein balls as an alternative to the legendary Köttbullar. Their CO₂ footprint is just 4% of the original.
For three generations now, a visit to IKEA has never been complete without a portion of Köttbullar.
The Swedish national dish has been served in IKEA restaurants around the globe since 1985. Now the world's most popular meatball faces competition from within its own house: the new pea protein balls are even giving committed meat-eaters a hard time deciding.
To ensure the new pea protein balls can rival the original not just in appearance, countless recipe variations were tested. Alongside the typical texture of IKEA's meatballs, the focus was on replicating the flavour of the original. After all, the offering is not aimed solely at customers who eat vegan or vegetarian.IKEA also wants to win over the many fans of the original with its vegan counterpart, in support of the company's goal of becoming climate-positive by 2030.
The main ingredients of the pea protein balls are yellow peas, oats, potatoes and dried apples. «To achieve the typical meaty flavour, you need ingredients that contribute various umami notes,»To achieve the typical meaty flavour, you need ingredients that contribute various umami notes» explains Alexander Magnusson, head chef and project manager at IKEA Food. Mushrooms, onions and tomatoes, for example, provide these nuances. «We tried several ingredients and methods to come close to the original in terms of taste and texture using exclusively plant-based ingredients. And actually, in a good way, they taste even more like meatballs than meatballs do.»
«We are proud to have created a modern take on this classic, which will certainly win plenty of fans among meat-eaters too. Anyone who loves the original gets a genuine vegan alternative. And everyone else can now enjoy a classic taste of Sweden in an IKEA restaurant or at home,» comments Hampus Svensson, Country Food Manager at IKEA Switzerland, on the new offering.
The new pea protein balls will be available from August 2020 in the restaurants and Swedish food markets of all IKEA stores in Switzerland. The pea protein balls contain no animal ingredients. The meal in the IKEA restaurants is served in the traditional way, with mashed potatoes, lingonberry jam and cream sauce. The dish contains dairy products and is not suitable for a vegan diet, unless you forgo the cream sauce.
«IKEA customers worldwide eat more than one billion meatballs every year. Our goal is to get some of the fans of the meat version to choose pea protein balls instead,» explains Sharla Halvorson, Health & Sustainability Manager for IKEA worldwide. She does the math: «The climate footprint of the pea protein balls is only 4% of the classic version. If we replace 20% of our meatball sales with the vegan alternative, that reduces the climate impact of our food business by around 8%.»
