The earthy flavor of kale chips does not necessarily appeal to everyone – but Mighty Mike’s Foods aims to change that.
Mike Milakovic’s kale chips come in four flavors: Hoppin’ Jalapeno, Poppin’ Pizza, Slammin’ Sour Cream and Super Cheezy.
“I like taking certain recipes and making them as healthy as possible,” he said.
He said he can’t eat dairy or gluten, so he wanted to create a snack that anyone could eat, including kids – thus the fun flavors.
Milakovic called the chips “adventure fuel” for “people who train hard, explore harder, and care about what they put in their bodies.”
A former Olympic hopeful in the hammer throw event, Milakovic was working in Creede as a personal trainer in 2016 and 2017 and wanted to create a snack for his clients.
“You couldn’t really find healthy food in Creede during the wintertime – it was all like ultra-processed stuff,” he said. “So I bought a dehydrator, started experimenting with some different flavors, looked up dehydrated foods, and then started making the cheese flavor for them, and they loved it.”
The next year he moved to Denver, expanded the number of flavors and started selling at farmers markets. The business took off from there.
“Things were going well,” Milakovic said. “We were in about 50-something stores.”
Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and he had to shut the business down.
Looking for a change of pace from the big city, Milakovic moved to Durango in April 2024. He began selling his snacks at farmers markets again and had a great summer.
“It was encouragement enough to start the business back up again, and it’s just been kind of rolling from there,” he said.
In addition to the Durango Farmers Market, Mighty Mike’s Foods can be found at Durango Natural Foods, James Ranch Market, Nature’s Oasis and several other stores in Durango.
Milakovic said he gets all of his kale and produce from Beet Street Farm in the Animas Valley, and everything is handmade in Durango.
“The mission is always going to be to support local and build a business that way,” he said.
ngonzales@durangoherald.com
