LEGO’s William Thorogood discusses recent successes and future launches

William, what were some of the stand-out sets and ranges from last year?
We had amazing sets for different passions and interests! Whether it was our first products from LEGO Fortnite – including the iconic LEGO Fortnite Battle Bus – or our collaboration with the genius Pharrell Williams in the ‘Over the Moon’ set… Then there were products and episodes from the second season of our latest home-grown IP, LEGO DREAMZzz. I’m proud to say all our teams are continuing to innovate and release new products and content to surprise and delight builders of all ages – whatever their interests.

This year marks your 20th year at LEGO. What is it about the company that’s kept you there for such an impressive stretch of time?
What’s kept me at the LEGO Group for all that time is a culture that’s never rested on its laurels. As a brand, we’re always innovating, trying new things and pushing ourselves… But still with the same focus on our people that I believe comes from being a private, family-owned company.

Our brand values revolve around imagination, creativity and fun… Most likely that won’t surprise anyone – but also quality, caring and learning. It’s that balance of creative standards, with a keen focus on our people, that I feel makes the brand unique. That’s kept me excited to work with this fantastic team day in and day out for the length of time I’ve been there. Roll on my 30th anniversary in 2035!

Ha! I’ve put it in the diary! Now, one exciting partnership for this year is your collaboration with F1. What made this brand a good fit for LEGO?
I’m hugely excited by our Formula 1 partnership – something my team and I have been a core part of making a reality. The LEGO Group has a long history connecting to motorsport, but to have a full partnership across the Concorde Agreement with Formula 1 and all teams on the grid is unprecedented. We know F1 has seen a huge surge with younger fans – more than four million children aged eight to 12 now actively follow the sport across the EU and US – and 40% of followers on Instagram are now under the age of 25.

Our new range will continue to broaden that appeal with sets from LEGO City, LEGO Speed Champions, LEGO DUPLO and LEGO Collectibles. Beyond products, 2025 will offer fans a host of content and experiences – on digital platforms and at races through interactive fan zones during Grand Prix weekends, bringing a whole season of ‘Build the Thrill’ activities to F1 and LEGO fans.

Let’s look ahead! It’s Toy Fair season – what’s new?
We’re not in London or Nuremberg with one ‘marquee’ reveal – we’re demonstrating a whole host of innovations across our sets for builders of all ages… From pre-school with LEGO DUPLO and exciting new IPs, to our ranges for younger builders such as LEGO City, LEGO Friends, LEGO NINJAGO and more… There are also new creations designed for older builders across LEGO Technic, LEGO ICONS.

I’m also excited to show how we’re appealing to even more passions and interests. The world of gaming is an area in which we’re continuing to offer more. For example, this year sees the introduction of LEGO Super Mario: Mario Kart, bringing Nintendo’s iconic Mario Kart franchise to the world of LEGO bricks for the very first time.

Sounds terrific. Work also continues on LEGO’s Innovation Campus. This is due to open in 2027. How will it help shape LEGO’s approach to design and creativity?
As a Billund local, the Innovation Campus is hugely exciting. As our Chief Product and Marketing Officer, Julia Goldin, said a couple of months ago, we have a truly global and diverse team and this new building is designed to represent the fun and innovation that the LEGO brand embodies.

The Innovation Campus is set to house 1,700 creative colleagues from across product marketing and development, gaming, product and quality teams. That includes more than 600 LEGO Group designers in one space. Another cool thing is that the Innovation Campus is built in a way that honours the modular design of LEGO brick. It’s an innovative building in six overlapping modules, with up to four floors featuring play zones and atria – and a bustling PlayWay that moves through neighbourhoods and connects people and functions.

There will be lots of green spaces and maximised daylight to spark creativity, in a structure made entirely from sustainable wood. I’ve also been told the building will be home to the world’s largest library of LEGO elements, covering a collection of around 20,000 different LEGO elements in 70 different colours!

Wow! Bring on 2027! Now, before we let you go, LEGO launches a lot of products each year. Is there a recent set that you feel maybe didn’t get the ‘spotlight’ as much as other lines, but that is worth shouting about?
I’ve got a lot of love for our LEGO DREAMZzz theme, which has just released its second season and had a fantastic year of even more incredible, creative products released. The range has everything from Narwhal Hot-Air Balloons to Robot Dinosaurs – the sets are so incredibly creative and diverse; there’s something for everyone. In another vein, while you certainly can’t argue these sets don’t get the ‘spotlight’, I wanted to call out a piece of news that may have gone under the radar for some…

Go on…
Our LEGO Botanicals is becoming its own theme… Accompanied by its own logo and new products. We just announced four new LEGO Botanicals sets arriving on shelf from early 2025. Since its introduction in 2021, the LEGO Botanicals collection has become one of our most popular product ranges. It’s unique blend of creativity and relaxation captivates builders and plant lovers… These sets offer a fresh experience to building and we’ll be releasing more sets for fans of all ages to create lifelike plants and flowers using LEGO bricks.

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