So I just had to Google this. According to https://newsroom.inter.ikea.com/news/ikea-develops-a-veggie-hot-dog-for-the-ikea-bistro/s/fa6dd766-e889-4439-970c-89

So I just had to Google this. According to https://newsroom.inter.ikea.com/news/ikea-develops-a-veggie-hot-dog-for-the-ikea-bistro/s/fa6dd766-e889-4439-970c-897d554e1d89 https://newsroom.inter.ikea.com/news/ikea-develops-a-veggie-... "The hot dog at IKEA has a long history: In 1981, and true to his vision for IKEA to be affordable for the many, Ingvar Kamprad set the price of the IKEA hot dog at 5 Swedish Krona – which was half price compared to competitors in Sweden at that that time. It was the beginning of the success story of the IKEA hot dog that today is served at IKEA all over the world." So, Ikea Sweden introduced a hot dog priced at 5 SEK in 1981. (The USD was super cheap at that time; my best guess is that this corresponded to like $0.90.) According to Costco themselves, their hot dog enterprise started in 1984: http://www.costcoconnection.com/connection/200903/?u1=texterity&pg=25#pg25 http://www.costcoconnection.com/connection/200903/?u1=texter... Myself: I don't think IKEA in Sweden were even on the radar for these Costco people in San Diego in 1984. I don't think they "copied" this concept. But it's safe to say that IKEA did not got this idea from Costco. Interestingly, the price for a hot dog at IKEA in Sweden is still 5 SEK, 37 years later.