Written by Aggam WaliaNew Delhi | October 3, 2025 03:55 AM IST 3 min readFrom pioneering organic cotton in textiles to adapting its food menu with local flavours, India has evolved as a testing ground for some of furniture giant IKEA’s most innovative ideas in operations and sustainability. IKEA has been integrating India more deeply into its global ecosystem, with Bengaluru serving as one of just four global development hubs alongside Shanghai, Ho Chi Minh City and Warsaw.In the early 2000s, IKEA co-founded the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) with Gap, H&M, and other organisations to adopt standards that make the cotton supply chain more sustainable. “By 2015, we had transitioned to 100% better cotton. Since then, we’ve moved further to sourcing organic cotton as well. India was actually our first pilot market for organic cotton, and now we use Indian organic cotton in our baby collections and in some bed linens,” said Fredrika Inger, a senior IKEA executive and spokesperson.Of IKEA’s approximately 1,500 global suppliers — concentrated mainly in China, Poland, Italy, and Lithuania — around 40 are in India, primarily for textiles. IKEA India plans to increase local sourcing from 30% currently to 50% by 2030.IKEA’s development centre in Bengaluru, which operates like a global capability centre, focuses on key categories such as textiles, carpets, metals, and plastics, helping shape both the global and local IKEA range.“The close proximity to suppliers enables faster product development cycles and stronger collaboration on the factory floor. Adaptations, whether in sizes, colours, or materials, help ensure products remain relevant while advancing sustainability ambitions, such as integrating renewable resources and circular design principles,” according to IKEA.IKEA operates around 500 stores across 63 countries, enabling cross-market experimentation — particularly in its food business, which contributes around 5% to revenue. In India, the company’s restaurants have adapted menus to local tastes, introducing vada pav in Mumbai, bisibele bhath in Bengaluru, and biryani in Hyderabad.“The local relevance in our food offering opened eyes even in European markets. After India, Spain came knocking. But we do this without losing the IKEA identity,” said Tolga Öncü, a senior executive at Ingka Group, which handles IKEA’s retail operations. IKEA’s adapted offerings in Spain include classic tapas like a Spanish omelette and Jamón Ibérico (Spanish cured ham).Story continues below this adIndia both provides learnings to IKEA’s global operations and absorbs insights from other markets. For instance, IKEA India is piloting certain recycling programmes to reintroduce materials into its supply chain, based on successful experiments in other parts of the world. Ingka Investments, the investment arm of Ingka Group, has backed RetourMatras to scale its mattress recycling capacity to 2.5 million annually across Europe.In markets including Texas, the UK, and Poland, IKEA is experimenting with smaller, more agile stores that carry limited inventory. The format has received positive feedback, and the company is now exploring pilots in other markets, including India.This global exchange is perhaps best embodied at IKEA’s heart in Älmhult, Sweden, where 5,500 employees — called “co-workers”— from more than 60 nationalities drive the company’s global vision.The reporter was recently in Sweden at IKEA’s invitationAggam Walia is a Correspondent at The Indian Express, reporting on power, renewables, and mining. His work unpacks intricate ties between corporations, government, and policy, often relying on documents sourced via the RTI Act. Off the beat, he enjoys running through Delhi's parks and forests, walking to places, and cooking pasta. ... Read More© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd