How Lego’s obsession with details has kept fans hooked for 92 years

In 2024, few companies have managed to match Lego’s success. The toys span generations, from adult hobbyists reconnecting with their favorite toys to the next generation.

Since its humble beginnings in 1932 as little more than a carpenter’s passion project, Lego toys have become an indispensable part of childhood. Name the subject and there’s probably a set for it, whether it’s architecture, anime, racing or jazz music.

Over the decades, Lego could very well have been replaced by more addictive and attractive electronic gadgets. But that wasn’t the case; things couldn’t be better for the Danish family business. It outperformed the toy market with record sales in 2023, with sales growth of 2%, reaching sales of DKK66 billion ($9.7 billion), versus a 7% decline in the broader sector.

So what’s Lego’s secret sauce for keeping kids (and, more recently, adults) hooked on the colorful bricks?

Fortune takes an exclusive look behind the scenes of Lego’s product development and the secret to keeping the iconic brand relevant.

One of Lego’s long-standing themes – space – illustrates what makes its approach unique and helps it stand the test of time. Space was one of three official categories in which the company developed toys (“castle” and “city” were the others) dating back to the 1970s. It was meant to represent the mysteries of the future, just as castles did for the past. The popularity of space travel among children has continued over the years children’s imagination as a realm of endless possibilities.

“Building Lego is a passion in itself,” says Julia Goldin, head of product and marketing at Lego Fortune in an interview.

Listening to children, for children

Lego realized early on that there was no way to understand what children want without hearing from them directly. Goldin said the company made this conscious decision about a decade ago and that it helped the company change the way it made toys.

“What makes a Lego set unique is first and foremost really understanding the audience,” Goldin said. “Not only understanding what will be interesting to them, but also what the right dynamics of the experience are.”

The quality of the LEGO bricks is another factor that sets it apart, as sets can be passed down from one generation to the next, said Frédérique Tutt, global toy industry consultant at market research firm Circana. Unlike mindless games, parents think their children can get something good out of Lego toys, whether that’s technical skills or using their creativity.

“When parents buy Lego for their child, they think it will help them build their brain,” Tutt said Fortune. “She [Lego] try to develop products for everyone.”

Turning an idea into reality

As an old toymaker, Lego has developed a well-oiled machine that allows it to continuously generate new ideas. The company organizes a ‘boost week’ once a year. Think of it as a quick brainstorming session typically associated with startups that encourages new concepts. Designers come up with fresh ideas or work on existing ideas, giving them creative freedom outside their daily schedule. There’s no checklist of what needs to be accomplished, although the goal is to see what can be turned into a potential Lego set, says Daniel Meehan, one of the brick company’s creative leads.

The next step is figuring out how “codable” the models are, including finding elements that tell stories and make them easier to play with, like Lego astronauts or purple collectible crystals.

In addition to milking ideas from the company’s designated toy developers, the company hears directly from its audience.

“We also test things extensively with children,” Meehan said.

The company brings together kids around the world, from Germany to China, to see what they want more of. That process yielded one of the crucial elements we see in Lego’s space-themed sets today, says Meehan, who heads the company’s recent space campaign.

During one of the ‘do-it-yourself tests’, one of the children flew around a wheeled vehicle, collecting aliens along the way – neither of which were part of the original set’s design.

“We are very practical, we are adults… but in the eyes of children it was a perfect space flight vehicle. But there was one complaint: him [the kid] said we need more aliens. And we actually put more aliens in the box as a result of that one child,” Meehan said.

The addition of aliens to Lego sets, as in a Lego space stationadds more layers to what would otherwise be a simple set and also highlights a common thread connecting sets from other categories. For example, Lego aliens can also be found in the space science laboratory and rover sets. The little green creatures are deliberately designed to look alike, as a signal to Lego builders, Meehan says Fortune.

The quality and complexity of Lego can do that make its products expensive– sometimes more expensive than the latest iPhone. This is especially true for products that have been withdrawn from the market, making them rare. The novelty of the products has made them a collector’s dream and even an object Robberies of $100,000 in the U.S. The company says it offers sets at different price points so no one feels expensive. The most simplified products can do that costs single digit dollarsjust like his 7,500 piece Millennium Falcon set could cost around $960.

Out of love for detail

It’s fair to say that Lego’s concern for quality and detail is not a new phenomenon. The company’s founder, Ole Kirk Kristiansen, took it in stride to his sonwho once tried to use two instead of three coats of paint to expedite an order and was reprimanded.

The company’s penchant for detail applies not only to its space creations or toy development process, but also to its business operations. For example, Goldin holds meetings that look at the company’s current performance while also discussing the pipeline for the coming years.

Much of the Danish company’s legacy as a toymaker is related to the way it makes play accessible to all age groups, interests and experience levels. The theme of space, Meehan explains, can be aimed at three types of audiences: storytellers, usually children with a fascination with the subject; enthusiasts, who are interested in learning about the field; and others, who are generally attracted to all things related to space, including the artistic side of it.

“Another strength they have is that they appeal to young children as well as teenagers or adults with complex pieces. So they grow with you,” Tutt said.

The granular approach also applies to the way Lego prices products and designs and markets to its emerging adult fan base, so there are toys for everyone. But one thing is certain: regardless of the motivations, the company tries not to go into details, because that is what gives Lego toys their character.

Goldin says Lego fans “really notice” the little elements it adds because they “bring a lot of excitement.”

“It’s much more than a toy because it’s a very immersive experience,” she said.