How does IKEA come up with names for its products?

The Wayback Machine - http://web.archive.org/web/20260818192854/https://www.ikea.com/se/en/customer-service/knowledge/articles/6f564c4d-2ccc-46de-b643-545a3948dc79.html The product names of IKEA may sound strange even to us Swedish speakers. In other parts of the world, they are basically incomprehensible, but fun! Here you will learn the most about how we name our products and the two rules that must always be followed – because there is a method in the madness. Ingvar Kamprad, founder of IKEA, had a hard time remembering numbers and numbers, so instead he decided to name his products. Naming products started as a practical solution, but over time it has become an important part of our identity and expression at IKEA. Our naming methodTo ensure consistent use of namesWe work purposefully to create a strong and unique identity for IKEA. Everything we do – including naming our products – helps us build and strengthen IKEA as a brand. That's why we follow two simple rules:We use Swedish names for our products. The product names reflect our Swedish identity, Småland's heritage and our values. They make IKEA unique and contribute to a sense of playfulness. The names are real words and often inspired by Swedish places, nature, emotions or everyday expressions – and follow a clear categorization system. For instance:Sofas → Swedish place namesBookshelves → men's namesChildren's products → animals and natureTo be used as a product name, it must:be a real wordcontain between 4 and 12 letterspreferably contain the letters Å, Ä or Öfeels good to sayNever be trademarked or be a surnameEvery possible product name is carefully checked to avoid undesirable meanings in other languages, political or religious affiliations and fit into our global profile.For everything else, we use descriptive names in the local language of the country in which we operate.This applies, for example, to services, functions and communication, which must be clear and easy to understand for all customers, regardless of market.An exception to these two rules are some carefully selected Swedish words (Hello, bye, welcome, welcome back and coffee), they are used to express aspects of the culture and traditions we have at IKEA.Did you know that we name around 2,000-3,000 new products every year? Did you find this useful? Thank you for your feedback! What particular parts of our articles do you find unsatisfactory or unhelpful? The text is confusing to understand The text is not relevant to my question The text is relevant but not helpful The text is too long or too short Thank you for your feedback! Was the article not helpful? Try one of the related articles below.