text: It changed the world with its flat-pack furniture and now Ikea wants to save the planet... with vegetarian meatballs. The dish loved by millions of British customers is to get a meat-free makeover that it is claimed will cut carbon emissions by half. The Swedish firm says producing the new version uses far less energy than making the pork and beef variety. Green scheme: IKEA claims it will 'save the planet' with its new vegetarian meatballs as  far less energy is needed both to produce and cook them than the pork and beef variety . Its veggie balls will be rolled out this month, created from a secret recipe of chickpeas, peas, carrots, peppers, corn, kale and seasoning. Ikea is as famous for its meatballs as its cheap self-assembly furniture and UK customers often spend entire days inside its large warehouses eating and shopping. The company now sells a staggering one billion of its regular meatballs every year. In an interview with the Daily Mail, IKEA chief executive, Peter Agnefjall, said: ‘We are launching a vegetarian meatball. We see a big opportunity. The vegetarian meatball will go global in April and have 50pc less carbon dioxide than a normal meatball. It’s healthier and better for the planet.’ The firm has spent two years developing the veggieball, the first innovation to its meatball since it started selling food to encourage shoppers to stay inside its stores back in 1959. The vegetable-based snack is more environmentally friendly than the meat version, because cows and pigs are responsible for methane emissions. It also takes less energy to cook a veggieball. A spokesman said: ‘At IKEA we want to offer healthy food choices that are delicious, sustainable and affordable for the many, based on our Swedish identity. ‘We are currently developing our food range to provide options that meet the different preferences of our customers. ‘One of the exciting new products is a veggieball which will be launched in our stores from April onwards. ‘The veggie ball does not have any animal content in the ingredients. We will share more information about our new veggieballs nearer the time of the launch.’ Meatballs are one of Sweden’s national dishes and as iconic as Volvo cars or the pop group Abba. Meatballs and Malm beds: Ikea is as famous for its meatballs as its cheap self-assembly furniture and the company sells one billion of its regular meatballs every year . IKEA sells 5million meatballs in the UK annually and estimates it has sold 11.6billion in the UK since 1987. However a spokesman said last night the veggieball will not be available in the UK until May. Food contributed £1 billion to group sales last year. IKEA has 361 stores worldwide which all sell food – its meatball even has its own Facebook page. Meatballs are sold in Ikea’s restaurants for £3.80 and customer can also buy a frozen variety in its Swedish Food Market for £4.35 for 1kg. It has not yet revealed the cost of the veggieball. Ikea was caught up in the international food fraud scandal in 2013 when it emerged there was more than just beef and pork in its meatballs. Tests showed that there was also a significant amount of pony and horse. The business was started by billionaire Ingvar Kamprad, 88, who started selling matches in the 1920s. The IKEA name comes from his initials along with the name of the family farm Elmtaryd which was located in the local village of Agunnaryd. His third store in Stockholm was designed to be round so customers did not cut corners whilst walking around. The flat packed idea came while shipping a table by rail. It had been damaged in transit so the idea to separate the legs was hatched to protect it. Shipping it flat was also cheaper.
target: IKEA hopes to save the planet with chickpea and kale 'veggie balls'
  The 'non-meat meatball' also contains carrots, peppers and peas .
  Swedish flat-pack firm sells one billion regular meatballs every year .