IKEA is now serving vegan veggie balls

IKEA is adding vegan veggie balls and antibiotic-free chicken balls to its menu.

The vegetable balls, which are free of dairy and gluten products, will be available for $4.49 a plate (10 balls) at IKEA restaurants starting April 8. The chicken balls will be added to the menu later this month.

The furniture retailer said the menu additions are part of a larger effort to offer more nutritious and sustainable food.

More than 600 million customers eat IKEA food annually, according to IKEA. The company's food division generated $1.5 billion in sales last year, accounting for more than 5% of its total revenue, The Wall Street Journal reports.

IKEA started serving food in the 1950s when founder Ingvar Kamprad noted that hungry customers were less likely to buy furniture.

"The meatball is the best sofa seller for IKEA because it keeps people engaged and happy," IKEA's chief of US Food, Gerd Diewald, said at an event in Brooklyn Wednesday.