In his third attempt to bring a product to market, Ken Manninen thinks he has hit on an idea that has unlimited potential.
Card Poppers was developed after his son Logan returned to card collecting during the COVID-19 pandemic. The two of them brainstormed how to display cards that come in a few sizes and formats.
Existing display systems were heavy and typically involved nailing shelving to walls or mounting the cards in frames.
“I like to solve a problem,” says Manninen, who is also president of Alliance Manufacturing in Fond du Lac.
They hit on the idea of creating a lightweight display system that allowed the cards to be popped in and out of the display and mounted on a wall using double-sided adhesive strips. The card holders are crystal clear acrylic cases and the wall mount is high-impact polystyrene.
They found a local manufacturing partner to produce prototypes and started attending card shows.
Manninen entered the Envision Greater Fond du Lac and NEW Launch Alliance Pitch Events. Card Poppers placed second in the Fond du Lac contest.
“We are just starting with the photo market,” says Manninen, who quickly tosses out ideas for displaying coins, stamps, comic books and more using the Card Poppers patents.
Manninen has a display of 50 family photos in his kitchen and the wall of a conference room at Alliance Manufacturing displays machines and parts. He says restaurants could display photos of menu items that have descriptions on the back.
Manninen thinks eventually the product will be sold through retail partners and there have been inquiries from larger businesses interested in the product.
Card Poppers is sold via e-commerce at cardpoppers.com and while they have unlimited manufacturing capacity, order fulfillment is completed by the three partners in the company — Manninen, Logan and Elysha Riley, a colleague at Alliance Manufacturing.
“When we started, I kind of viewed this as a retirement gig for me,” Manninen says, adding that he has really enjoyed bonding with his son as they grow the business.
