Ikea wants to become more sustainable. That’s why the furniture giant is rolling out a reusable system in its restaurants. In the future, customers will also be able to take home drinks and food with them.
For many customers, buying furniture from Ikea goes along with visiting the restaurant. The Furniture Store is now introducing an innovation that makes it possible to eat at home at Kottbuler & Co. The company announced this on Tuesday.
In early October, Ikea is introducing the reusable system with Recup and Rebowl in all German branches to restaurants, Swedish bistros and staff restaurants. This means that drinks and food can be taken home in the future. The innovation aims to “inspire people to live more sustainable lives and reduce waste together,” says the furniture giant. The reusable system has already proven itself in three furniture stores in Ulm, Cologne and Düsseldorf, where it was tested. Now to-go containers are to arrive in all 54 branches.
This is how the deposit system at Ikea works
The idea behind the deposit system is simple. Anyone who buys drinks in Recoup cups pays a deposit of one euro, and anyone who takes food home in a Rebowl container pays five euros. Customers can return empty containers to designated Ikea deposit machines or one of approximately 13,000 partners, and the deposit will be refunded.
By introducing the reusable system, the company is looking to not only reduce food waste, but also achieve its own sustainability goal – to be a climate-positive company by 2030.
With its go-to containers, Recoup claims to be Germany’s largest reusable system. In 2020 it was awarded the German government’s environmental label, Blue Angel.
