IKEA Japan Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Funabashi City, Chiba Prefecture; Representative Director, President and Chief Sustainability Officer: Helen von Reis), the Japanese subsidiary of IKEA, a Swedish home furnishing company with a vision of "creating a better everyday life for the many people," announces the October launch of Plant Balls in Japan, a product that has a positive impact on people and the planet and serves as a catalyst for more sustainable eating habits and lifestyles.

Guided by its goal of building business through sustainable food, IKEA has reimagined its iconic meatball to create a more sustainable option for its many meatball fans. The new Plant Balls use plant-based ingredients instead of meat. Made with yellow pea protein, oats, potato, onion and apple, this new dish looks and tastes just like meat, without compromising on taste or texture. Plant Balls have a climate footprint*1 that is just 4% of IKEA's classic meatball, contributing to the step towards becoming climate positive*2 by 2030.

"At IKEA, we sell over one billion meatballs every year. Imagine if some of our millions of meatball fans chose plant balls instead. If we could replace around 20% of our meatball sales with plant balls, it would reduce the climate footprint of our food business by around 8%*3," says Sharla Halvorson, Health & Sustainability Manager, IKEA Food global business.

"To reduce the climate footprint of our IKEA Food business, we need to sell less of our classic meatball. With the launch of our new Plant Balls, we can offer meat lovers a more sustainable option without compromising the memories of the IKEA meatballs that so many people love," explains Sharla.

In IKEA restaurants, the Plant Balls will be served with mashed potatoes, lingonberry jam and cream sauce. They will be available in the same format as the classic menu item, at an affordable price. You can also purchase frozen bags of Plant Balls at Swedish Food Markets to enjoy at home. The Plant Ball recipe does not contain any animal-derived ingredients*4, meaning there is a new addition to the IKEA Food range that is suitable for both meatball lovers and those who prefer a plant-based diet.

"Our main objective in developing the Plant Ball was to recreate the taste and texture of meat using only plant-based ingredients. We tried various ingredients and methods, but we are very pleased with the final result," said Alexander Magnusson, chef and project leader at IKEA Food.

The Plant Ball is scheduled to be released in Japan in October 2020. Details such as pricing will be announced at the time of release.

*1 The climate footprint of IKEA products such as Plant Balls is calculated in terms of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and includes the entire IKEA value chain, from the production and processing of raw materials, the manufacturing and transportation of products, IKEA stores, customer visits, product use at home, and the end of the product's life. GHG emissions for food mainly come from the raw materials used.
*2 IKEA also wants to make a positive difference on climate change. By 2030, we aim to have greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions exceed emissions across the IKEA value chain. *3 Calculated based on sales volume in fiscal year 2018. *4 Plant Balls do not contain animal-derived ingredients, but the sauces and garnishes do contain animal-derived ingredients.



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