As Milan Design Week opens, IKEA presents “Food For Thought” at Spazio Maiocchi (Via Achille Maiocchi 7), running from April 21 to 26. The exhibition features the world premiere of three products from the new IKEA PS 2026 collection, while exploring how food and design shape everyday life through a sensory experience of taste, ideas, and co-creation.
Returning to Milan after 31 years, the iconic IKEA PS collection debuts with an exclusive preview of its 10th edition, continuing its legacy of Democratic Design that makes good design accessible. Highlights include an inflatable easy chair, a solid pine rocking bench, and a three-directional floor lamp. Three distinct installations offer a glimpse into the collection’s “playful functionality”, showcasing designs that are both practical and joy-inducing through their expressive, unexpected details.
“IKEA PS 2026 is about pushing Scandinavian design forward through playful, expressive simplicity—always grounded in one ambition: to make bold and forward-thinking design accessible to the many,” says Maria O’Brian, Creative Leader at IKEA of Sweden. “More than 30 years after our first IKEA PS collection launched here in Milan, we’re excited to offer a first glimpse of this tenth edition—introducing three pieces that capture this ambition in its purest form.”
The themes of play and food are woven throughout the “Food For Thought” exhibition, which was co-created with architect Midori Hasuike and spatial designer Emerzon. It celebrates IKEA’s continuous exploration of life at home: how it evolves across cultures and generations, and how design can respond with optimism and relevance for the many.
“At IKEA, being stubbornly optimistic means showing that there are countless ways to create a more playful and meaningful life at home, a mission that feels more important today than ever before”, says Patrik Gustafsson, Global Home Furnishing and Retail Design Manager. “Built on years of interior design experience, our ideas grow from real everyday life, co‑created with people, just like we do here in Milan. Through Democratic Design and everyday insights, we aim to inspire how people live and experience home together.”
The exhibition features a unique collaboration between five visionary interior designers and five celebrated chefs, working in creative pairs to develop five scenarios where each duo has designed a room and a menu together. These interior and food designers explore how food shapes spaces and how spaces influence the experience of food; from preparation to sharing, each installation delves into how cooking and eating connect people emotionally and socially, turning everyday moments into design-driven narratives.
During the week, a working kitchen presents daily tastings created by the designer–chef collaborations, where food becomes both performance and participation.
The courtyard transforms into a Swedish saluhall-inspired market, offering local Italian products from vendors, animated by IKEA textiles and collaborations with Coldiretti, the leading organisation of agricultural entrepreneurs at both Italian and European level, which will create a real Campagna Amica farmers’ market, featuring local products brought directly by local producers. And PRISM, an Italian benefit company specialising in upcycling, repair, and socially inclusive textile production, which will sell products made from IKEA textiles. A playful highlight includes the “meatball lollipop”, created in collaboration with Chupa Chups.
The IKEA Food kiosk offers classic favourites and new interpretations, including the return of the Hot Dog Extravaganza, this time with daily “topping of the day” created by the chefs, and a preview of the fish finger hot dog.
The visit concludes at the BILLY café, a reflective, library-inspired space framed by the iconic BILLY bookcase. The setting invites visitors to slow down and reflect through a curated selection of 1,000 cookbooks by Phaidon, offering a pause within the intensity of Design Week.
Alongside the programme, the exhibition highlights a series of initiatives focused on more sustainable everyday living. IKEA has partnered with Too Good To Go, the leading anti-food-waste app, since 2018 and in 15 countries. Therefore, naturally, visitors will have the opportunity to contribute to reducing food waste by saving Surprise Bags filled with unsold food at the end of each day. The experience also includes Etrash, an Italian startup developing AI-powered smart bins that support improved waste sorting.
Beyond the main venue, IKEA also continues its partnership with Glitch Camp by Fondazione Francesco Morelli and IED (Istituto Europeo di Design) for the third consecutive year, furnishing shared spaces for design students attending Milan Design Week and hosting communal dinners aimed at fostering exchange and connection.
A free, electric IKEA-wrapped shuttle bus will operate daily from 09:00 to 19:00, connecting key points across Milan to Spazio Maiocchi.
“Food For Thought” opens to the public on April 21, 2026, and runs until April 26. Within the intensity of Design Week, it offers a moment to pause where food becomes reflection, and design becomes conversation. Because for IKEA, what we share at the table always goes beyond what is served.
For the full programme, visit IKEA at Milan Design Week 2026
About Ingka Group
With IKEA retail operations in 32 markets, Ingka Group is the largest IKEA retailer and represents 87% of IKEA retail sales. It is a strategic partner to develop and innovate the IKEA business and help define common IKEA strategies. Ingka Group owns and operates IKEA sales channels under franchise agreements with Inter IKEA Systems B.V. It has three business areas: IKEA Retail, Ingka Investments and Ingka Centres. Read more on Ingka.com.
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