The Beginning of Lekker Chócó Treats

The Beginning of my Dream

My name is Nakija Mills and I am the founder of Lekker Chócó Treats. I am 36 years old and a single mother of two wonderful boys, Bryan, 14 and Braylon, 13. I am originally from the beautiful island of Dominica, and grew up in the Netherlands before I moved to the US in late 2007. I currently live in Farmington, MI.

I am a creative spirit and when I came to the US, I did a variety of things to make money from braiding hair, working at a hair salon and making specialty cupcakes. I started dipping strawberries in 2011 as a decoration for my cupcakes and the cupcakes were an enormous hit. Over the years, my passion grew for making the cupcakes and making chocolate covered strawberries and treats. Along with my passion my technique and craft grew as well.

In 2015, the sudden loss of my children’s grandmother, caused a halt in my desire to be creative. I did not bake or decorate fruits for a long time. I really grieved her death.

In June 2019, a dear friend approached me, wondering if I would consider dipping strawberries for an upcoming prom event for her daughter. Wanting to say no, I said yes! Knowing that her party would be an over the top, showstopper event, I knew I could not just give her a platter of chocolate covered strawberries. So, at 5am the next morning I woke up and began surfing the web for ideas and that is when I decided to create a gold and white strawberry tower. It was a big success and I received tremendous feedback from the event. I really had fun creating the tower. I decided to start my own company, Lekker Chócó Treats. The word Lekker is Dutch and African and translates to DELICIOUS and Chócó- means chocolate!

I officially started Lekker Chócó Treats in October of 2019. On January 20th we celebrated the grand opening of Lekker Chócó Treats at Laurel Park Mall in Livonia, MI. We are located across from Olga’s.

We offer beautiful edible bouquets decorated with fresh flowers and hand dipped beautiful chocolate dipped strawberries. I also offer other sweet treats such as chocolate brittle, cocoa bombs, poffertjas (mini dutchpancakes) and more.

Over the last couples of years, I have participated in many festivals and events to get Lekker Chócó Treats out in the market place. We’ve done Arts, Beats and Eats 2 years in a row and I plan to do it again this year. I also did a pop-up in downtown Farmington at the Brown Dog location on Grand River in 2021/2022 for 3 months. It was a great experience and I will forever appreciate the opportunity. I am also looking forward to showcasing my products in some local venues very soon.

Every beautiful bouquet, strawberry box, strawberry tower and the Lekker Chócó Treats experience is about spreading love and happiness.