Ikea Just Unintentionally Created the Perfect Car Camping Essential

Search the picnic aisle for this excellent-looking (and dirt-cheap) outdoor eating solution.

A large blue IKEA store with bold yellow letters spelling "IKEA" on the front. The store entrance has glass doors and windows, with a yellow awning above. Two shopping carts are positioned outside the entrance. The building is surrounded by a lush green forest with tall trees and dense foliage.

By Ben Bowers

Published September 25, 2025

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Updated September 25, 2025

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The word picnic triggers visions of backyard lunches, beachside sandwiches, or snacks at an outdoor concert.

Ikea’s new Marulk 21-Piece Picnic Set, though, looks primed to handle far more than just one meal away from home, even if that wasn’t the Swedish retailer’s exact intentions.

Picnic by Name, Camp by Nature

A light wooden round table with a yellow fabric bag, a wicker basket with a handle, and a white mesh bag containing a white item with black text. The background shows a kitchen counter with plants, bottles, and a towel. — The Marulk 21-Pieces Picnic Set packs four settings into one tidy mesh bag

Tucked inside its included mesh carrying bag are four mugs, plates, forks, knives, and spoons—plus a tray to serve food on.

The tray also doubles as a storage shell: flip the plates upside-down, snap them onto the tray, and secure with the included elastic band to corral the cutlery for the drive (or store leftover food in a pinch.)

It also includes a set of four stackable mugs that save space.

Every item is made from easy-clean polypropylene, so there’s no need to worry about re-hand washing everything to sterilize items for storage after a long trip; just load it in the dishwasher.

Pros and Cons

A beige picnic blanket spread on grass with four place settings, each including a beige plate, a knife, fork, and spoon, and a small cup. In the center is a yellow plate. To the left, there is a wicker picnic basket containing a bottle of sparkling beverage and a striped cloth. A mustard yellow bag with a black and yellow water bottle is placed near the top. On the right side, there is a straw hat resting on a beige pillow. — The included tray works for prepping, serving, and packing your entire meal kit. An elastic band keeps everything snug, while the plates snap on top to serve as a lid.

Plenty of outdoor-focused brands already offer their own takes on outdoor dishware and cutlery sets.

Premium kits like Gerber’s Compleat Tableware deliver specialty utensils, smarter modular designs and toughened materials.

But the Marulk set easily beats all of these reputable options on price. At ten dollars, the whole bundle costs less than a single enamel plate from some boutique outdoors brands.

A close-up of a plain, round, beige plate with a smooth surface and slightly raised edges. — Durable, dishwasher-safe plastic means easy sanitizing once you get back home

And yet it still also admirably addresses two other key qualities of great camping gear – storage and compactness.

But there are compromises: this set isn’t built for backcountry durability or gourmet camp cuisine—it trades versatility and ruggedness for simplicity.

Still, for car campers or families heading out for a quick overnight, it’s a simple, effective way to ditch the trash and keep your eating gear together.

Pricing and Availability

A picnic setup on a beige blanket with various dishes including grilled flatbread, mixed salads with vegetables and legumes, cherry tomatoes, cucumber sticks, roasted sweet potatoes, nuts, and dips. There are also cups with lemon water and mint, a yellow backpack, a wicker basket with a bottle, and a large straw hat resting on a pillow. White plastic cutlery is placed on the plates and containers. — At a cost of just $10, there’s nothing else on the market from a reputable brand you know that can compete with Ikea’s outdoor cutlery set on price.

The Marulk 21-Pieces Picnic Set is available now at Ikea for $10, but as the cooler winter months approach, who knows how long it will remain in stock?

Set of beige and light brown reusable tableware including plates, cups, forks, knives, spoons, a round tray with handles, a mesh storage bag, and a black-and-white checkered strap.

Ikea Marulk 21-pieces Picnic Set

$10 at Ikea

About the Author: Ben Bowers is the Co-Founder and Chief Content Officer of Gear Patrol. Throughout his tenure in media, Ben has written and reported on everything from consumer tech to whiskey, watches, cars, camping, and personal style. These days, he gets to write less than he’d like to.