A downtown Orlando company rooted in nostalgia is expanding for the future.

Topps got its start in 1938 making chewing gum

Company got into collector's cards to promote its candy

Topps Digital, in downtown Orlando, adapting to new generation of fans

Topps Digital is catering to a new generation of card collectors and appealing to millions of people all over the world through technology.

“I’ve seen the industry transform so much over the last 20 years. It’s been amazing,” Dan Baker said. “Everything is going digital these days.”

Baker would know: His video game career has taken him all over the country, but the 45-year-old now calls The City Beautiful home.

“When Topps came to me and said, ‘We want a studio in Orlando,’ I couldn’t say no,” he said.

Business of nostalgia

Although Topps became known for their iconic baseball cards, the company got its start in 1938 making chewing gum. By the 1950s, Baker said they forayed into collector's cards as a business strategy to sell more candy.

The cards became engrained into American pop culture and are permanently painted with the brush of nostalgia.

“Everybody has a really fond memory growing up of having the cards and trading them with their friends, putting them on your bike spokes,” Baker said. “It’s just fantastic to bring this company into the 21st century and really keep us relevant for the next 20, 30, 40 years.”

As collecting habits change, Topps is adapting by allowing fans to buy, sell and trade cards on their phones or tablets. Cards will continue to be printed, Baker said, but their focus is turning to promoting four apps: three of which are sports card-based, while the fourth revolves around Star Wars.

“Some of them are just so cute,” said Lauren Whalen-Sater as she flipped through Star Wars character cards. Whalen-Sater is a quality assurance analyst; she tests the app to make sure it works.

Topps Digital said that millions across the globe have downloaded their apps.

“It’s an awesome opportunity to bring joy to someone in such a simple way,” she said. “That’s what we sell. We sell the childhood dream.”

Growing and moving

In this sparsely-furnished room in the Church Street Exchange building, the Topps Digital team works out kinks in its apps. Daily 15-minute collaboration meetings help with troubleshooting.

In the past few months, Baker has been hiring technologists, from artists and designers, to engineers. He now has a staff of 20, and following the announcement of an official partnership with the City of Orlando and $130,000 grant, plans to hire a dozen more.

“The awesome opportunity was to actually open a studio of my own and actually be responsible for growing this,” Baker said.

Their growth means movement: The company has moved within Canvs three times and will soon be moving again elsewhere in downtown Orlando. After their move, Topps Digital Orlando plans to release several new apps in the next six months.

“It’s just a very cool thing to be part of that, and now to bring everybody this new digital media,” Baker said. “The tech scene in Orlando has been amazing. There’s an awesome pipeline of talent.”

