As it turns out, that was all part of IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad's master plan, way back when the first store opened in 1958.

其實呢，IKEA 創辦人 Ingvar Kamprad 早在 1958 年開第一間店時就打出了這個算盤。

He figured well-fed customers would increase sales and boy, was he right?

他當時想，客人吃飽喝足後應該會在店內多買一些東西，而事實證明他是對的。

Even today, the meatballs are referred to as "the best sofa-seller."

即使到了今天，IKEA 的肉丸依然被視為「最佳沙發銷售員」。

But what makes this furniture-store-turned-foodie-favorite tick?

不過，到底是什麼讓這個家具店成了吃貨的最愛呢？

Here's the untold truth of the IKEA food court.

以下為你揭曉關於 IKEA 美食小站的秘密。

Affordable snacking.

經濟實惠的小吃。

It's hard to beat the food prices at IKEA and those dirt cheap meals are all part of the design.

IKEA 美食的價錢是很難被外面店家打敗的，而殊不知，這些便宜到不行的餐點其實全是 IKEA 的套路。

Gerd Diewald who runs IKEA's food operations in the US, told Fast Company, "When you feed [customers], they stay longer, they can talk about their [potential] purchases, and they make a decision without leaving the store."

美國 IKEA 的餐飲部執行長 Gerd Diewald 告訴雜誌《Fast Company》，「你給客人東西吃，他們就會待得比較久，他們在逗留期間可以討論他們想買的東西，然後就在賣場裡面做決定。」

And this theory works. 650 million hungry furniture shoppers are spending almost $2 billion a year in IKEA's food court.

他的理論是成立的，6.5 億名飢餓的消費者每年在 IKEA 的美食小站消費將近 20 億美元。

Not exactly Swedish.

不全是瑞典美食。

Spoiler alert: those "Swedish" meatballs aren't actually Swedish.

劇透警告：那些「瑞典」肉丸不完全是來自瑞典。

In April 2018, the country of Sweden came clean, tweeting: "Swedish meatballs are actually based on a recipe King Charles XII brought home from Turkey in the early 18th century. Let's stick to the facts!"

在 2018 年 4 月，瑞典發佈了一則推特澄清「事實是，瑞典肉丸其實用是國王查爾斯十二世在 18 世紀初期從土耳其帶回來的食譜製作而成。」

While some fans lamented that their "whole life had been a lie," others wanted to know about those lingonberries.

在一些粉絲感嘆「我們一生都被欺騙了」的同時，其他人想知道更多關於越橘的事。

The official word? "They don't grow in Sweden exclusively. But lingonberry jam accompanying meatballs is damn near as Swedish as it gets!"

官方說法是？「越橘不只有生長在瑞典，但越橘果醬配肉丸的距離就像是越橘跟瑞典的距離一樣！」

The rest of the menu is about 50 percent Scandinavian, according to Fast Company, with items tailored to specific markets.

根據《Fast Company》報導，IKEA 菜單上約有 50% 是北歐料理，其餘菜色則是按照特定的市場進行客製。

Not your grandma's hamburger.

IKEA 漢堡不是你以為的漢堡。

Over the years, IKEA has listened to customers' desires for more plant-based options.

多年來，IKEA 採納了顧客的意見，增加了蔬食的選擇。

In 2015 they introduced a vegan version of their iconic meatballs, and in early 2019 they'll be rolling out vegan hot dogs in the US stores.

繼 2015 年推出了素食版肉丸後，他們將在 2019 年在美國分店推出素食版熱狗。

But they have some other truly innovative items in the works.

不過他們也正在研發許多創新的餐點。

Space10, IKEA's external innovation lab, is setting out to create sustainable "fast food of the future."

IKEA 的外部創新實驗室 Space10，旨在創造永續的「未來速食」。

And among that futuristic food is the Bug Burger, made of ground mealworm, parsnip, beetroot, and potato; the Dogless Hotdog, made of veggies and nestled in a green spirulina bun; and the Neatball - another chance to get your mealworm protein fix.

這些未來速食包括由麵包蟲、防風草、甜菜根和馬鈴薯攪碎製成的蟲蟲漢堡，由蔬菜製成，夾在螺旋藻麵包中的沒有狗的熱狗；還有由麵包蟲製成，蛋白質含量滿滿的偽肉丸。

Unfortunately, you might have to wait a while to try these tasty treats.

壞消息是，你可能要等一陣子才能吃到這些可口美食。

A Space10 rep told Esquire, "This project is limited to culinary research, and there are no current plans to put these dishes on IKEA's menu."

Space10 的代表跟 Esquire 說，「這項計劃現在處於食物研究階段，目前沒有打算要將這些餐點放到 IKEA 菜單上面。」

Meatball pop-up?

肉丸快閃店？

A staggering 30 percent of IKEA customers come to the store just for the food.

有大約 30% 的消費者到 IKEA 只是為了用餐。

And seeing an opportunity to reach more dining-only customers, in 2017 the company tested several stand-alone pop-up restaurants in major cities where a traditional store just wouldn't work.

為了接觸更多只來店裡用餐的客人，2017 年 IKEA 挑了幾個傳統 IKEA 分店業績表現不太好的大城市開設幾家快閃店。

Michael La Cour, IKEA Food's managing director, told Fast Company, "I firmly believe there is potential. I hope in a few years our customers will be saying, 'IKEA is a great place to eat-and, by the way, they also sell some furniture.'"

IKEA 餐飲部總經理 Michael La Cour 告訴《Fast Company》：「我絕對相信這有潛力，我希望幾年之後我們的客人會說：『IKEA 是間很棒的餐廳，順帶一提，他們還有賣家具。』」

As of 2018, IKEA has no solid plans for a restaurant roll-out. But here's hoping we don't have to assemble our own take-out containers when it finally happens.

一直到 2018 年，IKEA 還是沒有關於發展餐廳的實質計畫。不過如果真的有開成，我們真心希望到時不用自己組裝自己的外帶餐具。