Every January 28, Lego International Day is celebrated, an occasion to pay tribute to an icon that does not stop reinventing itself since its birth in 1958. But behind the famous blocks a silent revolution is hidden: today, the main clients of the Danish manufacturer are no longer children, but adults. A trend that began during the Covid-19 pandemic and shows no slowdown signs.
LEGO AND THE “AFOL”
Lego’s story begins in Billund, Denmark, where Ole Kirk Christiansen invented the plastic blocks we all know. Of simple colored blocks for children, the brand has become a world colossus capable of generating 9.7 billion dollars of income in 2023. Its strength lies not only to be a game, but in a system that encourages creativity, ingenuity and, as we will discover, a strong nostalgic attraction for adults.
The Afol, acronym for ‘Adult Fans of Lego ‘ (Lego fans adults)represents one of the most interesting inflection points for the Danish brand. Born as construction children, many of them abandoned the blocks during what Lego calls “the dark age of the company”, between the mid -90s and early 2000s, only to rediscover them in adulthood. This return was unexpectedly accelerated with the Covid-19 pandemic and the social isolation of 2020. Crapted at home, millions of people sought a creative hobby, and Lego became a natural choice.
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