Inspiring Conversations with Milka Gordillo of Sweets by Milka

Today we’d like to introduce you to Milka Gordillo.

Hi Milka, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My name is Milka. I like to say Milk plus A. Yes! I was born in Venezuela and moved to Miami Beach, FL when I was ten. I am the creator of Sweets by Milka. It all started about five years ago with our high-end handcrafted stuffed dreaMallows. The STUFF is Inside! Yes, Inside. I came up with the idea after living in Colorado, and spending a lot of time outdoors and camping. It was just s’mores and s’mores and s’mores — I just didn’t like them. It was just like sugar and paste it in my mouth, and it falls apart and it’s messy and I just didn’t like the whole concept. So, when I moved back to Florida, I decided to create something different. I played around with a lot of things and finally created fresh marshmallows without CORN SYRUP and only three ingredients. They tasted like a CLOUD. I wanted everyone to have that moment, that feeling of being on a cloud. I decided to apply to the West Palm Beach Greenmarket in April of 2005 & April of 2005 & quite corporate after getting accepted to the West Palm Beach September of 2005. I never looked back. I remember saying to myself “I have two weeks to set up a logo, register with the state, find a licensed kitchen, find packaging, etc. Oh, sweet little surprise we sold out every single dreaMallow during our first ever greenmarket and we also found out we were expecting our second boy, Mateo! I had a lot to do but I had a purpose, I wanted to share our dreaMallows with our Palm Beach community & Sweeten the world one sweet bite at a time.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Smooth like a fresh dreaMallow & rocky like our best seller: Salted Caramel with toasted pecans! You get the point! Starting a business from scratch has been a learning experience for sure. I did not have any mentors or guidance in terms of marketing, business name, product shipments, etc. Let’s not forget I was also introducing a new category to the OLD fashion marshmallow world. The biggest struggle is saying NO to commercializing our dreaMallow experience. dreaMallows are not marshmallows they are dreaMallows! Individually handcrafted for you with LOVE and using quality ingredients that will allow that bite to take over your senses. The perfect bite comes from having that moment with yourself, where you can stop, close your eyes and take that perfect bite — you don’t have to share and you can just let your sense overtake you for a moment. That bite is like a moment of yoga for me, it just makes me feel good. I don’t call them “struggles” anymore! Life is about adapting and learning! I’ve done just that with the business. I did not choose dreaMallows, it chose me.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Sweets by Milka ?
As Palm Beach Illustrated said it “I am the guru of fresh Marshmallows’ I specialize in handcrafted STUFFED marshmallows. I create anything from a fresh marshmallow pig to S’more STUFFED cookie cake. Our dreaMallows were our main product but we have quickly transformed the world of STUFFED Cookies as well. As our customers call them the 12 million dollar Cookies! My culture comes with lots of flavor and having experienced Miami’s melting pot growing up allowed my palette to be extra Sweet with flavors. We have flavors such as OMGUAVA & Cheese for our COOKIES. It takes you back to Miami without the traffic. One of our best seller & our 12 Million dollar cookie flavor is our Lemon Coconut. I call it the Florida in a bite! In 2020 I also added my own take on a traditional Venezuelan delicacy Tequenos. Tequenos are a spear of Queso fresco wrapped in dough. Enjoy as a snack or meal with your choice of guava & cheese or cheese only. They come frozen for you to fry at your leisure. I am proud of what we have created so far. I say we because I have not paid one cent in marketing. It shows, we have grown little by little and most if not all of our revenue comes from repeat customers. I have relationships with our supporters, they are not a number. Our vision is to be able to have our own DRIVE-THRU SWEETS allowing us to grow & be able to further help our local community with our resources. I would also love to have my own line of baking tools and teach some online classes.

How do you think about happiness?
The kitchen! It is my safe place. It is a place that allows me to be grounded. The kitchen allows me to release all fears & I use the base of the marshmallow as my CANVA. I get to create life as Sweet as I want & I also get to share with the rest of the world. What else can I ask for? I also like to point out that Happiness is made! You choose happiness!

Pricing:

• $5-$35

Contact Info:

• Email: sweetsbymilka@gmail.com
• Website: www.sweetsbymilka.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/sweetsbymilka
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/sweetsbymilka
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/sweetsbymilka