What do you think of when you hear the word Lego?
Kids toys, bricks, or little landmines being left around your home after the kids have "tidied up", perhaps?
While Lego (one of our clients) has risen to fame as a kids toy brand ("leg godt" = Danish = play well), did you know that kidults (adults who play with kids' toys) is one of its most lucrative markets?
As a futurist (and kidult), I always push my clients to anchor yourselves to buoyant megatrends that can propel you into a prosperous future.
But these shifts require a change in mindset, and a willingess to accept data, and innovate along the data trend. The kidult market has tripled since the Pandemic, and in the 12 months ending June 2024, US adults spent 7 billion on kids toys - for themselves - not their kids! What would your kids say! Even prior to the pandemic, the kidult market was growing 3x faster than the children's market. Ignoring the trend would mean losing market share in a very competitive market.
But these shifts require a change in mindset, and a willingess to accept data, and innovate along the data trend. The kidult market has tripled since the Pandemic, and in the 12 months ending June 2024, US adults spent 7 billion on kids toys - for themselves - not their kids! What would your kids say! Even prior to the pandemic, the kidult market was growing 3x faster than the children's market. Ignoring the trend would mean losing market share in a very competitive market.
Lego was willing to let go of its ego (no pun intended) and embrace a new market - one buoyed by a megatrend.
Two weeks ago I was speaking at a professional services firm's partners conference in Barcelona and I highlighted that the market for carbon accounting is growing at 22.1% and is estimated to be a 66 billion dollar industry by 2030.
If you run an accounting practice are you willing to shut your eyes and miss the gold inherent in the megatrend of sustainability for example? The point is: megatrends happen in every industry and the trend can be your your friend when you anchor yourself to it.
Personal Reflection: In my own family, building the Millennium Falken with my son Lucien at night is a great bonding moment, and dad probably gets as much enjoyment out of it as Lucien does.
Futurist & Humanist
Anders Sörman-Nilsson
PS. Here are my reflections from Norr Mälarstrand in Stockholm as I think of Lego's innovation on a cold November morning...