Why We Won’t Want Another Meatball

A culinary treat, Ikea’s meatballs could be legendary.

Now though, they are also economic.

Ikea’s Meatballs

While Ikea is famous for its “flat packed” furniture, some customers go there for the meatballs. During the pandemic, Ikea even revealed their secret meatball recipe so regulars could enjoy them at home.

Now, in the UK, 30 winners of a competition will take home a meatball. Yes, it is one meat ball. But that meatball is as big as a turkey. Serving 10 people, I suspect it weighs as much as six pounds or maybe more.

The meatball:

To be one of the 30 (lucky?) winners, on Instagram, you just need to like, comment, and share Ikea’s posts.

Our Bottom Line: Diminishing Marginal Utility

As economists, devouring a giant meatball could make us think of diminishing marginal utility. The reason is how we perceive that extra bite.

Given a stack of chocolate chip cookies when we are hungry, the first is delicious and so too is the second one. But then the pleasure we get from each extra cookie plummets. Using economic language, we say that the marginal utility diminishes. All we mean though is that the pleasure we get from each extra bite goes down.

Similarly, with a massive meatball, starving, we enjoy the first bite, the second one and the third. Next however, the appeal subsides and, sooner or later, we enjoy it less. Like our chocolate chip cookies, we experience diminishing marginal utility. Every extra bite of the giant meatball tastes less good.

And finally…

Some giant meatball humor:

• “How many days in the oven?”
• From Jaws, slightly adjusted: “We’re gonna need a bigger gravy boat,'”

My sources and more: The Washington Post says all we need to know about Ikea’s meatball. However, do take a look at the diminishing marginal utility of McDonald’s McRib and Starbucks’s Pumpkin Spice Latte.

Please note that parts of a paragraph in “Our Bottom Line” was in a previous econlife post.