IKEA makes room for gains with first fitness challenge

IKEA Singapore is putting its storage furniture through a different kind of stress test, turning everyday home products into fitness challenges as part of its new “Make space for what you love” campaign.

At the centre of the September campaign is the furniture retailer's first “HEJ-FIT challenge”, a functional fitness competition developed in partnership with Volvo and set to take place at IKEA Tampines on 19 and 20 September.

Speaking to MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, Steve Croasdale, country selling manager at IKEA Singapore, said the challenge ties into the wider campaign's push to encourage Singaporeans to clear physical clutter and make room for their personal passions, including fitness and hobbies.

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With Singaporeans leading increasingly busy lives, Croasdale said HEJ-FIT is a playful way of encouraging people to make space for themselves, whether for movement, fun or simply trying something new.

"We chose functional fitness because it is accessible, energetic and built around everyday movements such as lifting, carrying, pushing and moving," he said, adding that this allowed IKEA to create an inclusive challenge for different fitness levels rather than positioning it solely as a competition for serious athletes.

For the challenge, participants will compete in mixed doubles across a series of stations incorporating IKEA storage products in unconventional ways. Developed with fitness professionals, the circuit swaps traditional weights for IKEA products, with competitors dragging, pushing and carrying items including loaded FRAKTA bags.

The winning team stands to take home a fully electric Volvo EX30, while up to 200 participants who complete the challenges will receive a HEJ-FIT finisher medal. Registration is open to IKEA Family members until 9 September, with additional fitness challenges and rewards also available to visitors at IKEA Tampines during the event weekend.

The "HEJ-FIT challenge" sits within IKEA Singapore's year-long “Make space for what you love” platform, which is rooted in the pressures of living in a space-constrained city while juggling increasingly busy routines.

According to Croasdale, IKEA's core insight is that resolving physical friction in the home through smarter organisation can help consumers reclaim not only physical space, but valuable time.

"We believe a well-organised home is the foundation for a more purposeful, joyful life," he said. The campaign subsequently positions IKEA's storage products as tools for clearing physical and mental clutter, creating room for experiences, relationships and personal interests.

The retailer is also using the platform to push its stores beyond their traditional role as places to shop. Croasdale said IKEA wants its stores to remain at the heart of the brand experience while finding new ways to make visits "inspiring, fun and sometimes a little unexpected". He added: 

By transforming our stores into a high-energy playground for the HEJ-FIT challenge, we're inviting the whole community to gather, play, and connect.

The Volvo partnership similarly plays into the campaign's Swedish roots. Croasdale said IKEA and Volvo are aligned around designing with people in mind and supporting active, safe and sustainable everyday routines, with the partnership bringing those shared values into a community event for IKEA Family members.

Beyond fitness, IKEA is extending “Make space for what you love” across home design, family activities and food throughout September.

At IKEA Jurong, a home sesign showcase on 12 and 13 September will offer consultations and ideas for consumers looking to maximise their living spaces. Meanwhile, a “Pillow-fort decathlon” running from 18 to 20 September will invite parent-child teams to build forts using IKEA products.

The campaign will also feature limited-time food offerings, including a chicken curry bread bowl and Swedish meatball ice cream with caramel sauce and lingonberry jam.

Together, Croasdale said the experiences are intended to demonstrate the different ways consumers can make room for what matters to them, spanning better home design and family time to fitness and food.

While IKEA did not confirm whether HEJ-FIT will return, Croasdale said the retailer will continue exploring experiences that give consumers new reasons to visit its stores and make space for their interests.

The "HEJ-FIT challenge" follows another playful in-store activation from IKEA Singapore earlier this year. In May, the retailer launched its first hide-and-seek competition at IKEA Alexandra, inviting teams of two to race through the store and locate eight hidden characters within 45 minutes.

At the time, Caroline Ng, country marketing manager at IKEA Singapore, told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that the activation was inspired by the simple, cross-generational joy of hide and seek. She added that it extended IKEA's approach to making everyday living more playful, functional and meaningful, while encouraging consumers to connect with friends and loved ones through play.

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