It started off as an April Fool’s Day joke, but now Swedish meatball-flavoured lollipops have become a real thing – if only for a short time.

Jumping on the weird and (sometimes) wonderful food collab trend that has brought Australians treats such as Twisties Zooper Dooper Fairy Floss, Bundaberg ginger beer-flavoured Kettle Chips and Coles’ Doritos-inspired hot-cross buns, IKEA has joined with confectionary brand Chupa Chups to produce what it describes as a “savoury sweet treat”.

The unusual collab was originally announced on April 1 as an April Fool’s Day joke, but sparked such intense reactions on social media that the two brands revealed a couple of weeks later they were going to make it a reality.

“They’re here!” IKEA country food manager Tim Prevade declared in a statement on Friday, although the lollipop won’t actually arrive in Aussie stores until June 20.

“We’ve loved watching the conversation unfold on social after the announcement… we can’t wait for everyone to try it.”

The lollipop is said to have an “innovative and playful” flavour inspired by IKEA’s Swedish meatballs and their “tangy lingonberry jam accompaniment”.

According to Chupa Chubs global marketing manager Martin Höfling, members of the company’s R&D team went to an IKEA restaurant to eat its meatballs and figure out how to translate the “experience” into confectionary combining savoury and sweet.

“It’s the weirdness that sparks interest,” Martin told IKEA’s Screw It podcast.

“And then the relief when you finally take the leap of courage to try it.”

Australians brave enough to try the meatball-flavoured lollipop won’t find it on the shelves. Instead, they will receive one free if they buy a plate of what the furniture giant calls “eatballs” (meat, fish or vegetarian balls) in an IKEA restaurant.

It is being rolled out in the company’s stores across 30 countries, with Americans among those who have already had a taste.

In a social media post this week, Seattle-based television station New Day Northwest shared a video showing perplexed staff members doing a blind taste of the lollipop.

One suggested it had a coffee taste,  others said they got “hints of popcorn”, meatloaf and gravy, while a third declared it was “like a bad dinner my mom cooked”.

“It tastes like a dinner – I’m getting notes of, like, turkey,” one woman said.

No doubt local food trend followers will deliver their own verdicts on whether the limited-edition lollipops are yuck-yum or just plain yuck, but the furniture retailer is warning they will be “here for a sweet time, not a long time”.