It’s not that LEGO “grew up.” Better: it learned how to package therapy, nostalgia, and display status, and sell it in a box.

Trot through a toy aisle today and you’ll see strange things indeed.

A LEGO bonsai tree.

Or their replica of the DeLorean time machine from Back to the Future with opening gull-wing doors and adaptations for all three movies.

Maybe even a mind-blowing 9,090-piece model of the Titanic.

None of these “toys” are designed for kids.

They’re all made for big’uns.

Seriously, the toy industry calls these buyers “kidults,” and they’ve managed to become one of the fastest-growing segments in toys.

I’m still getting my head around this: purchases by adults have surged globally, helping companies like LEGO outperform a struggling toy market. 

But the psychology behind these sets is what I find especially interesting.

LEGO didn’t simply set out to make bigger, better, pricier toys.

Nope. they redesigned the purpose of the product.

For kids, LEGO is all about three things: play, play, and more play.

For adults, it’s about three different needs.

First: controlled creativity.

Many knowledge workers spend their days in abstract environments: documents, dashboards, screens.

Building something physical provides a rare sense of completion.

Second: display identity.

Adult LEGO sets are designed to sit completed on shelves, desks, or coffee tables.

The product becomes décor.

A LEGO orchid signals something about the owner similar to the way a framed print does, but a different something.

Third: nostalgia with permission.

Adults who played with LEGO as kids don’t dream of more of those same toys.

They now crave a sophisticated excuse to reconnect with the feeling.

A botanical set, architectural model or giant ship solves that.

(I sort of want that Titanic model with the three cross sections and pistons that turn the propellers.)

THIS is why the adult fan segment has become such a valuable market for LEGO and other toy brands. 

The bricks didn’t change a whole heck of a lot.

But the job the toys do transformed, and snowballed in dollar value.

That’s the worthwhile lesson for product makers and marketers.

What if the growth opportunity isn’t an altogether new product?

Could be it’s a new reason to buy the same one.

What product you make today might become something very different if you simply change the job it performs for customers?

Want to make your product irresistible? That’s what we do as product marketing agency at Graphos Product, helping innovators turn need-driven ideas into market-ready successes.