How IKEA Names Its Products: It’s a Surprisingly Brilliant Naming System
IKEA products stand out with their quirky brand names:
Docksta table
Ektorp sofa
Poäng armchair
Kallax shelving units
Billy bookcase
Each name elevates the perceived value of the object, and signals it has a distinct place in your home.
How IKEA names its products is ingenious. The naming system was created by Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA’s founder. Kamprad struggled with dyslexia, and he had trouble remembering the order of the numbers in item codes. So he swapped the numbers for names. This made it easier for him to remember each item, and as a result he made fewer mistakes when filling out forms.
The naming system is brilliant in its simplicity and scalability. Each product is named after Swedish towns and villages, humans, and other applicable Swedish words.
The system is even cooler than simply assigning random Swedish words to products. Each category of products is assigned a specific type of name. For example, outdoor furniture is named after Scandinavian islands:
Äpplarö are wooden patio furniture
Solleron are outdoor sofas
Mastholmen are outdoor coffee tables
If you study Google Maps, you can find each island that the product represents.
To simplify its inventory and branding, IKEA uses the same product name for each of its products in all its markets. A Fartyg ceiling light is a Fartyg no matter where you buy it.
breaks down the naming system:
Bathroom items: Names of Swedish lakes and bodies of water
Linens: Flowers and plants
Bedroom and Living Room Furniture: Norwegian places
Bookcases: Professions and Scandinavian boy’s names
Bowls and Vases: Swedish place names, adjectives, spices, herbs, fruits, and berries
Boxes, Pictures, and Wall Decorations: Swedish slang expressions and Swedish place names
Children’s Products: Mammals, birds, adjectives
Desks and Chairs: Scandinavian boy’s names
Fabrics and Curtains: Scandinavian girl’s names
Outdoor Furniture: Scandinavian islands
Kitchen Accessories: Fish, mushrooms and adjectives
Lighting: Units of measurement, seasons, months, days, shipping and nautical terms, Swedish place names
Rugs: Danish place names
Sofas, Chairs and Dining Sets: Swedish place names
The system helps IKEA name new products quickly and efficiently, but IKEA doesn’t constrain itself by the system. They’ll break their own rules when it makes sense.
For instance, the Billy bookcase, IKEA’s #1 selling product, is named after an employee, Billy Likjedhal. Some products have functional names, because they work better:
The Sladda bicycle translates to “skid” in Swedish.
The Krossa spice mill means to crush or grind.
With over 12,000 products, IKEA has created a brilliant naming system. The names are quirky and endearing, and they elevate the status of each product. The naming system is efficient and scalable, which is essential for a global brand that is naming thousands of unique products.
You're reading by Jeremy Miller, originally posted on Sticky Branding. Did you enjoy this article? If so, sign-up for more of Jeremy's articles at Sticky Branding.
