<p>Amid the hot peppers, the taco shells, the $150 snake- and alligator-skin boots and the bright soccer uniforms at Los Pinos Grocery, cashier Inez Gonzalez bounced her 4-month-old baby on her knee and nibbled on Panque con Nuez, sliced pecan pound cake.</p><p>It tastes good, she said Monday, offering a slice to a visitor.</p><p>The store has nine new cakes such as Panque con Nuez with Spanish labels and soft pink, green and blue packages. They resemble the Mexican-made products on nearby shelves, but these are made and distributed by Flowers Foods Bakery Group, one of the nations leading baking companies, headquartered in Thomasville, 60 miles south of Albany.</p><p>They are the first full line of snack cakes created by a U.S. wholesale baker to appeal to the nations growing Hispanic population, Flowers said in a news release announcing the products.</p><p>No one is doing it on the Flowers scale, said Allen Shiver, president and chief operating officer of Flowers Foods Specialty Group, noting that a Texas competitor has been successful with pastries baked in Mexico for Hispanic consumers north of the border.</p><p>We are the first company to produce Mexican pastry in the United States for distribution in the United States, he said.</p><p>Nathan Cruz got a supply of the pastries last week and quickly put them on the shelves of his Los Pinos (the Pines) Grocery in Albany.</p><p>They look like they came from Mexico, said Cruz, 27, who immigrated from Mexico 11 years and worked as a dishwasher and waiter until he saved enough to open his grocery store and an adjoining restaurant. They have the same flavor as the Mexican things. I think theyll do well.</p><p>A recent analysis by the Pew Hispanic Center said the Latino population is expected to grow from 35.3 million in 2000, or about 13 percent of all U.S. residents, to about 60.4 million in 2020, or 18 percent. That means another 1.2 million Hispanics a year through 2020.</p><p>Georgia tops the list of states with the fastest-growing Latino populations, having adding nearly 17 percent between July 2000 and July 2002 to reach 516,000 residents. North Carolinas Hispanic population grew by 16 percent, followed by Nevada, Kentucky and South Carolina.</p><p>The University of Georgias Selig Center for Economic Growth estimates the buying power of the states Hispanics at $10.2 billion, an inducement for supermarkets to offer Hispanic foods and for auto dealers run ads in Spanish, offering great deals and liberal financing.</p><p>Hispanic radio programming, a booming business in metro Atlanta, is retransmitted to remote farms throughout south Georgia to inform and entertain migrant workers. Some workers also have access to the five Hispanic newspapers _ most of them new _ published in Georgia.</p><p>Weve been observing the growth in the Hispanic market just like every other food company, said Shiver. We felt it was something to be involved in.</p><p>Flowers began developing its Pan Dulce De Mi Casa (Sweet Bread From My House) and Tesoritos (Little Treasures) slightly more than a year ago and used Hispanic consumer panels to get the taste and packaging right.</p><p>The Mi Case products at Los Pinos ranged from small doughnuts known as Donas, to cream filled sponge cakes known as Esponjitas, to chocolate-covered vanilla cake with strawberry and cream filling known as Sorpresas.</p><p>Weve created recipes that will especially appeal to Hispanic tastes and our cakes are winning accolades from customers, said George E. Deese, president and chief operating officer of Flowers Foods.</p><p>The Pan Dulce de Mi Casa brand will be sold throughout the South in supermarkets, convenience stores and other retail outlets served by Flowers Foods 3,100 bread routes, Shiver said.</p><p>The Tesoritos brand will be available nationally in supermarkets, convenience stores and vending operations that use wholesale warehouse distribution. Flowers Foods Specialty Group will manage Tesoritos distribution.</p><p>The Hispanic taste panels directed us toward recipes that were more toward a sweet-break taste, as opposed to traditional American pastries with a sweeter taste, Shiver said. We feel that any choice (Pan Dulce De Mi Casa or Tesoritos), theyll get a treat that matches their preferences.</p>
