During Ramadan, IKEA created pop-up living rooms where UK commuters could pause their journey, pray and share an Iftar meal.
This year, millions of Muslims across the UK faced a logistical challenge: sunset, when the daily fast is broken, fell right during the evening commute. IKEA's response was Iftar At Ours, a pop-up "home away from home" where commuters could step out of the rush and break their fast in warmth and comfort. Running from March 3-5 in London's Southbank and March 9-10 in Manchester's Exchange Square, the initiative created welcoming living rooms complete with prayer areas, traditional home décor and three-course meals featuring dishes from an array of Muslim-majority countries.
Working with Muslim media company Amaliah and interior designer Noor Aliyah Ali, IKEA built spaces that evoked the cozy familiarity of an auntie's living room, down to the carrom board that became a gathering point for strangers turned dinner companions. Amaliah's role extended beyond consultation — founder Nafisa Bakkar described it as a "safety net" ensuring authentic cultural representation at every layer, from the menu to the guest experience.
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Iftar At Ours demonstrates what happens when brands invest deeply in cultural consultation rather than treating diversity as a marketing checkbox. IKEA didn't create visibility for visibility's sake — the pop-up solved a genuine friction point in Muslim communities' daily lives. (Operating the space for the entirety of Ramadan instead of just a few days would've been even better.)
By centering usefulness over optics and embedding cultural expertise throughout the process, the retailer created something that felt less like a brand activation and more like genuine hospitality. The result is a blueprint for brands looking to engage meaningfully with communities: start with a real need, consult deeply with people from those communities and build experiences that reflect their lived reality rather than a surface-level understanding of their culture.
Spotted by Mihaela Tantas
