At Esquisito Bakery in Lawrenceville, Georgia, they focus on tres leches cakes – with a wide range of choices in flavors and sizes from the smallest 4-inch personal cakes to three-layer wedding and quiceañera cakes.
“We focus on tres leches because that is what people like,” Katia Diaz shares. “We do cake decorating in every store. Teamwork is very important to us.”
Of note, the Latino and Latina populations are increasing contributors to the GDP of the U.S. – a key finding noted at the recent U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce conference. In fact, the Latina GDP is growing at 2.7 times the rate of the non-Hispanic GDP.
In 2021, the Latino GDP in the U.S. topped $3.6 trillion, making it a bigger economy than the U.K., which has the sixth highest GDP in the world.
“This growth is a testament to the hard work and entrepreneurial spirit of the Latino population,” said David Hayes-Bautista, director, Center for the Study of Latino Health & Culture, UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine.
Hayes-Bautista and Matthew Fienup, executive director, Center for Economic Research & Forecasting, California Lutheran University, presented the U.S. Latina GDP Report in Kansas City.
The Latin community’s monetary influence in the U.S. has grown right alongside the overall demographic’s population growth; according to the Pew Research Center, there were 62.5 million Latinos in the U.S. as of 2021, accounting for approximately 19% of the total U.S. population.
The Latina GDP is rising especially fast, topping $1.3 trillion in 2021. If a state, it would be fourth in the U.S., trailing only California, Texas and New York.
From 2010 to 2021, the female Hispanic GDP has grown 51.1 percent, compared to 18.8 percent for all non-Hispanic males and females.
“The vitality of Latinas is creating socio economic mobility and a rising standard of living,” Fienup said. “They are attaining higher levels of education and bringing energy into the workforce.”
According to the Food Institute report, in 2024, Latinas are extremely proud of their heritage and celebrate it in the workforce. Many Latinas are entrepreneurs, or would-be entrepreneurs, (not to mention successful chefs) – and they’re proud to grow the influence of their community.
Humble beginnings
Founded in 2011 from humble beginnings, Esquisito Bakery in Lawrenceville, Georgia, has blossomed into a highly successful and professional operation with five retail locations in the greater Atlanta metropolitan area. Owned by Luis and Dalia Diaz, this innovative bakery business is dedicated to its mission, vision, and values.
Their mission statement states that the bakery is dedicated to offering high-quality products at the best market price, supported by personalized service that achieves customer satisfaction based on our Christian principles.
Their vision is to be the leading company in their field at both local and national levels, constantly expanding its range of products to achieve complete customer satisfaction, guiding them toward efficient service with highly qualified personnel.
Esquisito Bakery adheres to six core values:
- Faith, as a foundation of their Christian doctrine.
- Honest. Integrity and rectitude should prevail in all of their actions, consistent with their moral values.
- Service excellence. Their primary commitment is to their customers.
- Effectiveness. They are all capable of generating good results.
- Creativity. They must be leading agents of innovative ideas.
- Austerity. They are all part of the company. Therefore, they must monitor and supervise unnecessary expenses.
“We started in a small shop in Atlanta, and we have five locations now,” Luis Diaz explains. “When we started making our own breads and cakes, it was a lot of work. People liked our product. Those are the beginnings, and we kept going.”
Their daughter Katia points out that now customers come from hundreds of miles away just to buy fresh breads and bakery products from their stores.
