What is Lego?! Thanks for asking!
Danish toy brand Lego may be celebrating its 90th anniversary in 2022, but it's showing no signs of slowing down.
An average of 31 billion bricks are sold each year around the world, with its learning through play products appealing to kids and adults alike.
How did Lego start out?
Back in 1932, in the small Danish town of Bylland, carpenter Ole Kirk Christiansen decided to expand his business by building small wooden toys.
A couple of years later, Christiansen chose the name Lego as an abbreviation of Leggott, which means to play well in Danish.
It was only after the second world war that Lego started producing its first plastic bricks when the material became more widely available in Denmark.
After trying out various designs they found one which worked well, patented it in 1958 and went international reaching the UK, Belgium, Sweden and France.
Year by year lego products started popping up more and more across the world.
By the end of the 1960s they were available in over 40 countries and the manufacturer launched its Duplo range for smaller children.
The year 1978 saw a landmark moment in the LEGO story, with the first minifigures appearing.
As a side note there are actually now more LEGO people in the world than there are real human beings.
These days, the LEGO concept which was first created in a small Danish town generates over 5 billion euros in turnover each year.
How did LEGO stay so strong over the years?
Well bear in mind things haven't always been totally rosy for the company.
They have gone through some tough moments over the years.
In the late 90s and early 2000s, for example, the whole toy sector was coming under threat from the growing popularity of video games, and LEGO was no exception.
The company decided to launch its own clothing, jewellery and video game lines, as well as opening theme parks.
Securing licensing deals with major franchises was also part of the strategy.
A partnership with Star Wars in particular saw LEGO come right back to the fore.
It may have led to big debates in the company due to the increased presence of weapons in its product range but looking back it's hard to deny it revived the brand.
Other franchises like Harry Potter, Batman and Disney would then follow suit later.
On top of toys based on these licenses other related products were also released like video games, board games, films and TV series.
These all contributed to the brand's continued success.
What about Lego's environmental footprint?
Indeed one major drawback is that Lego's main product has historically been 100 % made from unrecyclable plastic.
Nevertheless, the company has taken steps to improve its image.
In 2014, it ended a long -standing and lucrative partnership with petrol giant Shell, following a Greenpeace campaign.
The following year it invested $155 million into creating a sustainable materials centre.
And finally in 2021, after 70 years of producing unrecyclable toy bricks, LEGO started using a new prototype block fabricated from PET plastic, which comes from recycled plastic bottles.
That's right, if LEGO wants to retain its position as one of the world's most loved toy brands, it will have to demonstrate a long term commitment to helping protect the planet.
There you have it, now you know what lego is.
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