Why do IKEA give their products such unique names? The real reason revealed

Virgin Radio

26 Oct 2022, 11:46

It turns out the quirky names on all IKEA products aren't just a fun way to sell things. 

The Swedish company uses Swedish names to label their home goods, and now, one TikTok ‘Fact Guy’ by the name of Dougie Sharpe, has finally explained why the furniture store adopted such a creative way to name their products. 

In his TikTok explainer video, Dougie shared that there is method to the madness, as IKEA creator, Ingvar Kamprad, was dyslexic, and so in the company’s early days, he wanted an easy way to understand his inventory of goods. 

It meant that all rooms, or different categories of home bits and bobs, had a different name which correlated with other Swedish things, places, or even, bodies of water. 

For example, beds and wardrobes have places in Norway as their label, while carpets are named after places in Denmark. 

When it comes to dining furniture, such as tables and chairs, their names come from locations in Finland, while bathroom bits are fittingly named after Swedish lakes and rivers. 

If you’re looking to brush up on your Swedish, IKEA might be the best place as lots of items have the names of people, animals and adjectives. 

Go in for the home decor and meatballs…leave with a better understanding of the Swedish language!

IKEA was founded in 1943 by Kamprad when he was only 17 years old, and the store been the largest furniture retailer since 2008. IKEA first opened in the UK in 1987.

The actual name is an acronym of Kamprad’s initials, the family farm he grew up on, called Elmtaryd, and the nearby village of Agunnaryd. 

You really do learn something new every day!