<PAGE>   1
    As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 23, 2001
                                           Registration No. 333-________________
================================================================================
                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

                                   -----------

                                    FORM S-8
                             REGISTRATION STATEMENT
                                      UNDER
                           THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

                                   -----------

                               FLOWERS FOODS, INC.
               (Exact name of issuer as specified in its charter)

           Georgia                                    58-2582379
 (State or other jurisdiction of          (I.R.S. Employee Identification No.)
 incorporation or organization)

                               1919 Flowers Circle
                           Thomasville, Georgia 31757
                    (Address of principal executive offices)

                                   -----------

         FLOWERS FOODS, INC. 2001 EQUITY AND PERFORMANCE INCENTIVE PLAN
                            (Full title of the plan)

                                   -----------

                               G. Anthony Campbell
                               Flowers Foods, Inc.
                               1919 Flowers Circle
                           Thomasville, Georgia 31757
                     (Name and address of agent for service)

                                 (229) 227-2305
          (Telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

                                 With a copy to:
                              Lizanne Thomas, Esq.
                           Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue
                               3500 SunTrust Plaza
                           303 Peachtree Street, N.E.
                           Atlanta, Georgia 30308-3242

                                   -----------

                         CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
=================================================================================================================================
                                                                     Proposed maximum      Proposed maximum
      Title of securities                          Amount to be        Offering price          aggregate            Amount of
       to be registered                           Registered(1)         per share(2)       offering price(2)     registration fee
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<S>                                               <C>                <C>                   <C>                   <C>
Common Stock, $.01 par value                        2,000,000            $ 21.79            $ 43,580,000            $ 10,895
=================================================================================================================================
</TABLE>

         (1) Plus such additional number of shares as may be available for
purchase pursuant to the Plan in the event of a stock split, stock dividend,
recapitalization or other similar changes in the capital structure, merger,
consolidation, spin-off, split-off, spin-out, split-up, reorganization, partial
or complete liquidation or other distribution of assets, issuance of rights or
warrants to purchase securities, or any other corporate transaction or event
having an effect similar to any of the foregoing.

         (2) Estimated solely for calculating the amount of the registration fee
pursuant to Rule 457(h) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Act"),
the price per share is based on the average of the high and low prices of the
Common Stock on the New York Stock Exchange on April 16, 2001. The registration
fee is calculated by multiplying the product of the proposed maximum offering
price per share and the number of shares to be registered by .00025.


<PAGE>   2

                                EXPLANATORY NOTE

In accordance with the Note to Part I of Form S-8, the information specified in
Part I of Form S-8 has been omitted from this Registration Statement on Form S-8
for offers of shares of Common Stock of Flowers Foods, Inc. pursuant to the
Flowers Foods, Inc. 2001 Equity and Performance Incentive Plan (the "Plan").

                                     PART II

ITEM 3.  INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE.

         The following documents filed by Flowers Foods, Inc. (the "Company")
with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "Commission") are incorporated
herein by reference:

         (a)      The Company's annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year
                  ended December 30, 2000 filed with the Commission on March 30,
                  2001;

         (b)      All other reports filed with the Commission pursuant to
                  Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
                  as amended (the "Exchange Act"), since March 30, 2001; and

         (c)      The description of the Company's Common Stock contained in the
                  Company's Registration Statement on Form 10 under the Exchange
                  Act and all amendments thereto.

         All documents subsequently filed by the Company pursuant to Sections
13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act, subsequent to the filing of this
Registration Statement and prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment
which indicates that all securities offered hereby have been sold or which
deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be
incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement and to be part hereof
from the date of filing such documents.

ITEM 4.  DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES.

         Inapplicable.

ITEM 5.  INTERESTS OF NAMED EXPERTS AND COUNSEL.

         Inapplicable.

ITEM 6.  INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS.

         Article IX of the Company's Restated Articles of Incorporation (the
"Articles of Incorporation") provides that, except to the extent allowable
pursuant to the Georgia Business Corporation Code (the "Georgia Code"), as such
provisions exist from time to time, no director of the Company shall be liable
to the Company or its shareholders for, or with respect to, any acts or
omissions in the performance of his duties as a director. The Company's Articles
of Incorporation further provide that in discharging the duties of their
respective positions and in determining what is believed to be in the best
interests of the Company, the Board of Directors, committees of the Board of
Directors, and individual directors, in addition to considering the effects of
any action on the Company or its shareholders, may consider the interests of the
employees, customers, suppliers, and creditors of the Company and its
subsidiaries, the communities in which offices or other establishments of the
Company and its subsidiaries are located, and all other factors such directors
consider pertinent, provided, however, that this provision shall be deemed
solely to grant discretionary authority to the directors and shall not be deemed
to provide to any constituency any right to be considered.


                                       1
<PAGE>   3

         Article X of the Articles of Incorporation and Article 8.10 of the
Company's Restated Bylaws (the "Bylaws") provide that the Company shall
indemnify, to the fullest extent permitted by the Georgia Code or any other laws
presently or hereafter in effect, each person who is or was or had agreed to
become a director or officer of the Company or is or was serving or had agreed
to serve at the request of the Board of Directors or an officer of the Company
as an employee or agent of the Company, as a director, officer, employee or
agent of another corporation or of a partnership, joint venture, trust or other
enterprise, including the heirs, executors, administrators or estate of such
person. The right to indemnification conferred by Article 8 of the Company's
Bylaws is a contract right and includes the right to be paid by the Company the
expenses incurred in defending any such proceeding in advance of its final
disposition; provided, however, that, if the Georgia Code requires, the payment
of such expenses incurred by a director or officer in his or her capacity as a
director or officer (and not in any other capacity in which service was or is
rendered by such person while a director or officer, including, without
limitation, service to an employee benefit plan) in advance of the final
disposition of a proceeding, shall be made only upon delivery to the Company of
an undertaking, by or on behalf of such director or officer, to repay all
amounts so advanced if it shall ultimately be determined that such director or
officer is not entitled to be indemnified.

         The Georgia Code provides that a company may indemnify an individual
who was or is a party to a proceeding because he is or was a director or officer
against liability incurred in the proceeding if he acted in a manner he believed
in good faith to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the company, and,
in the case of any criminal proceeding, he had no reasonable cause to believe
his conduct unlawful. The termination of a proceeding by judgment, order,
settlement, conviction, or a plea of nolo contendere or its equivalent is not,
of itself, determinative that the director or officer did not meet the standard
of conduct set forth in the Georgia Code. However, no indemnification shall be
made of an officer or director in connection with a proceeding by or in the
right of the company in which the director or officer was adjudged liable to the
company or in connection with any other proceeding in which he was adjudged
liable on the basis that personal benefit was improperly received by him.
Indemnification in connection with a proceeding by or in the right of the
company is limited to reasonable expenses incurred in connection with the
proceeding.

         The Georgia Code further provides that a company shall not indemnify an
officer or director unless authorized in the specific case upon a determination
that indemnification of the director or officer is permissible in the
circumstances because he has met the applicable standard of conduct set forth
above and prescribes the persons who may make such determination.

         To the extent that a director or officer has been successful, on the
merits or otherwise, in defense of any proceeding to which he was a party or in
defense of any claim, issue or matter therein, he shall be indemnified against
reasonable expenses (including attorneys' fees) incurred by him in connection
therewith. The Company shall pay for the reasonable expenses incurred by a
director or officer who is a party to a proceeding in advance of the final
disposition of the proceeding if the director or officer furnishes the Company
notice as required under that director's or officer's indemnification agreement,
if one exists, a written affirmation of his good faith belief that he has met
the standard of conduct set forth above, and the director or officer furnishes
the Company a written undertaking, executed personally or on his behalf, to
repay any advances if it is ultimately determined that he is not entitled to
indemnification by the Company as authorized in Article 8.10 of the Company's
Bylaws.

ITEM 7.  EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION CLAIMED.

         Inapplicable.


                                       2
<PAGE>   4

ITEM 8.  EXHIBITS.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
               Exhibit
               Number       Description
               -------      -----------
               <S>          <C>
                 4          Flowers Foods, Inc. 2001 Equity and Performance Incentive Plan
                 5          Opinion of Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue re: legality
                23.1        Consent of Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue (included in Exhibit 5)
                23.2        Consent of PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP, independent auditors
                24          Power of Attorney
</TABLE>

ITEM 9.  UNDERTAKINGS.

         (a)      The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:

                  (1)      To file, during any period in which offers or sales
                           are being made, a post-effective amendment to this
                           registration statement:

                                    (i) to include any prospectus required by
                           Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933;

                                    (ii) to reflect in the prospectus any facts
                           or events arising after the effective date of the
                           registration statement (or the most recent
                           post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually
                           or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change
                           in the information set forth in the registration
                           statement;

                                    (iii) to include any material information
                           with respect to the plan of distribution not
                           previously disclosed in the registration statement or
                           any material change to such information in the
                           registration statement;

                  provided, however, that sub-paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and
                  (a)(1)(ii) do not apply if the registration statement is on
                  Form S-3 or Form S-8, and the information required to be
                  included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is
                  contained in periodic reports filed by the registrant pursuant
                  to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act
                  of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in the registration
                  statement.

                  (2)      That, for the purpose of determining any liability
                           under the Securities Act of 1933, each such
                           post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new
                           registration statement relating to the securities
                           offered therein, and the offering of such securities
                           at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona
                           fide offering thereof; and

                  (3)      To remove from registration by means of a
                           post-effective amendment any of the securities being
                           registered which remain unsold at the termination of
                           the offering.

         (b)      The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for
                  purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act
                  or 1933, each filing of the registrant's annual report
                  pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Securities
                  Exchange Act of 1934 (and, where applicable, each filing of an
                  employee benefit plan's annual report pursuant to Section
                  15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) that is
                  incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall
                  be deemed to be a new


                                       3
<PAGE>   5

                  registration statement relating to the securities offered
                  therein, and the offering of such securities at that time
                  shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

         (c)      Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the
                  Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers
                  and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the
                  foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been
                  advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange
                  Commission such indemnification is against public policy as
                  expressed in the Securities Act of 1933 and is, therefore,
                  unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification
                  against such liabilities (other than the payment by the
                  registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer
                  or controlling person of the registrant in the successful
                  defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such
                  director, officer or controlling person in connection with the
                  securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in
                  the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by
                  controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate
                  jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it
                  is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act of
                  1933 and will be governed by the final adjudication of such
                  issue.


                                       4
<PAGE>   6

                                   SIGNATURES

         Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the
registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all
of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration
Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly
authorized, in the City of Thomasville, State of Georgia, on the 23rd day of
April, 2001.


                                    FLOWERS FOODS, INC.



                                    By: /s/ Amos R. McMullian
                                       -------------------------------------
                                       Amos R. McMullian
                                       Chairman of the Board of Directors
                                       and Chief Executive Officer

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration
Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the
date indicated:

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
               Signature                                    Title                                  Date
               ---------                                    -----                                  ----
<S>                                      <C>                                                 <C>


/s/ Amos R. McMullian
----------------------------------       Chairman of the Board of Directors and              April 23, 2001
Amos R. McMullian                        Chief Executive Officer (Principal
                                         Executive Officer)


/s/ Jimmy M. Woodward
----------------------------------       Vice President and Chief Financial Officer          April 23, 2001
Jimmy M. Woodward                        (Principal Accounting Officer)


/s/ G. Anthony Campbell
----------------------------------       Secretary and General Counsel                       April 23, 2001
G. Anthony Campbell



               *                                       Director
----------------------------------
Robert P. Crozer



               *                                       Director
----------------------------------
Edward L. Baker



               *                                       Director
----------------------------------
Jackie M. Ward
</TABLE>


                                       5
<PAGE>   7

<TABLE>
           Signature                                    Title                                 Date
           ---------                                    -----                                 ----
<S>                                                    <C>                               <C>
               *                                       Director
----------------------------------
 C. Martin Wood III



               *                                       Director
----------------------------------
 Joe E. Beverly



               *                                       Director
----------------------------------
 J.V. Shields, Jr.



               *                                       Director
----------------------------------
 Franklin L. Burke



               *                                       Director
----------------------------------
 Langdon S. Flowers



               *                                       Director
----------------------------------
 Joseph L. Lanier



By: /s/ G. Anthony Campbell                                                              April 23, 2001
   -------------------------------
       G. Anthony Campbell
        Attorney-in-Fact
</TABLE>


                                       6
<PAGE>   8

                                  EXHIBIT INDEX

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
Exhibit
Number                                                Description                                          Index
------                                                -----------                                          -----
<S>                 <C>                                                                              <C>
4                   Flowers Foods, Inc. 2001 Equity and Performance Incentive Plan                    Filed herewith
5                   Opinion of Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue re: legality                                Filed herewith
23.1                Consent of Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue (included in Exhibit 5)
23.2                Consent of PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP, independent public accountants            Filed herewith
24                  Power of Attorney                                                                 Filed herewith
</TABLE>


                                       8
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{"company-data": {"conformed-name": "FLOWERS FOODS INC", "cik": "0001128928", "assigned-sic": "2000", "irs-number": "582582379", "state-of-incorporation": "GA"}, "filing-values": {"form-type": "S-8", "act": "33", "file-number": "333-59354", "film-number": "1608379"}, "business-address": {"street1": "1919 FLOWERS CIRCLE", "city": "THOMASVILLE", "state": "GA", "zip": "31757", "phone": "9122269110"}, "mail-address": {"street1": "1919 FLOWERS CIRCLE", "city": "THOMASVILLE", "state": "GA", "zip": "31757"}}
1
    As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 23, 2001
                                           Registration No. 333-________________
================================================================================
                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

                                   -----------

                                    FORM S-8
                             REGISTRATION STATEMENT
                                      UNDER
                           THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

                                   -----------

                               FLOWERS FOODS, INC.
               (Exact name of issuer as specified in its charter)

           Georgia                                    58-2582379
 (State or other jurisdiction of          (I.R.S. Employee Identification No.)
 incorporation or organization)

                               1919 Flowers Circle
                           Thomasville, Georgia 31757
                    (Address of principal executive offices)

                                   -----------

         FLOWERS FOODS, INC. 2001 EQUITY AND PERFORMANCE INCENTIVE PLAN
                            (Full title of the plan)

                                   -----------

                               G. Anthony Campbell
                               Flowers Foods, Inc.
                               1919 Flowers Circle
                           Thomasville, Georgia 31757
                     (Name and address of agent for service)

                                 (229) 227-2305
          (Telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

                                 With a copy to:
                              Lizanne Thomas, Esq.
                           Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue
                               3500 SunTrust Plaza
                           303 Peachtree Street, N.E.
                           Atlanta, Georgia 30308-3242

                                   -----------

                         CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
=================================================================================================================================
                                                                     Proposed maximum      Proposed maximum
      Title of securities                          Amount to be        Offering price          aggregate            Amount of
       to be registered                           Registered(1)         per share(2)       offering price(2)     registration fee
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Common Stock, $.01 par value                        2,000,000            $ 21.79            $ 43,580,000            $ 10,895
=================================================================================================================================
(1) Plus such additional number of shares as may be available for
purchase pursuant to the Plan in the event of a stock split, stock dividend,
recapitalization or other similar changes in the capital structure, merger,
consolidation, spin-off, split-off, spin-out, split-up, reorganization, partial
or complete liquidation or other distribution of assets, issuance of rights or
warrants to purchase securities, or any other corporate transaction or event
having an effect similar to any of the foregoing.

         (2) Estimated solely for calculating the amount of the registration fee
pursuant to Rule 457(h) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Act"),
the price per share is based on the average of the high and low prices of the
Common Stock on the New York Stock Exchange on April 16, 2001. The registration
fee is calculated by multiplying the product of the proposed maximum offering
price per share and the number of shares to be registered by .00025.
2

                                EXPLANATORY NOTE

In accordance with the Note to Part I of Form S-8, the information specified in
Part I of Form S-8 has been omitted from this Registration Statement on Form S-8
for offers of shares of Common Stock of Flowers Foods, Inc. pursuant to the
Flowers Foods, Inc. 2001 Equity and Performance Incentive Plan (the "Plan").

                                     PART II

ITEM 3.  INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE.

         The following documents filed by Flowers Foods, Inc. (the "Company")
with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "Commission") are incorporated
herein by reference:

         (a)      The Company's annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year
                  ended December 30, 2000 filed with the Commission on March 30,
                  2001;

         (b)      All other reports filed with the Commission pursuant to
                  Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
                  as amended (the "Exchange Act"), since March 30, 2001; and

         (c)      The description of the Company's Common Stock contained in the
                  Company's Registration Statement on Form 10 under the Exchange
                  Act and all amendments thereto.

         All documents subsequently filed by the Company pursuant to Sections
13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act, subsequent to the filing of this
Registration Statement and prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment
which indicates that all securities offered hereby have been sold or which
deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be
incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement and to be part hereof
from the date of filing such documents.

ITEM 4.  DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES.

         Inapplicable.

ITEM 5.  INTERESTS OF NAMED EXPERTS AND COUNSEL.

         Inapplicable.

ITEM 6.  INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS.

         Article IX of the Company's Restated Articles of Incorporation (the
"Articles of Incorporation") provides that, except to the extent allowable
pursuant to the Georgia Business Corporation Code (the "Georgia Code"), as such
provisions exist from time to time, no director of the Company shall be liable
to the Company or its shareholders for, or with respect to, any acts or
omissions in the performance of his duties as a director. The Company's Articles
of Incorporation further provide that in discharging the duties of their
respective positions and in determining what is believed to be in the best
interests of the Company, the Board of Directors, committees of the Board of
Directors, and individual directors, in addition to considering the effects of
any action on the Company or its shareholders, may consider the interests of the
employees, customers, suppliers, and creditors of the Company and its
subsidiaries, the communities in which offices or other establishments of the
Company and its subsidiaries are located, and all other factors such directors
consider pertinent, provided, however, that this provision shall be deemed
solely to grant discretionary authority to the directors and shall not be deemed
to provide to any constituency any right to be considered.

                                       1
3

         Article X of the Articles of Incorporation and Article 8.10 of the
Company's Restated Bylaws (the "Bylaws") provide that the Company shall
indemnify, to the fullest extent permitted by the Georgia Code or any other laws
presently or hereafter in effect, each person who is or was or had agreed to
become a director or officer of the Company or is or was serving or had agreed
to serve at the request of the Board of Directors or an officer of the Company
as an employee or agent of the Company, as a director, officer, employee or
agent of another corporation or of a partnership, joint venture, trust or other
enterprise, including the heirs, executors, administrators or estate of such
person. The right to indemnification conferred by Article 8 of the Company's
Bylaws is a contract right and includes the right to be paid by the Company the
expenses incurred in defending any such proceeding in advance of its final
disposition; provided, however, that, if the Georgia Code requires, the payment
of such expenses incurred by a director or officer in his or her capacity as a
director or officer (and not in any other capacity in which service was or is
rendered by such person while a director or officer, including, without
limitation, service to an employee benefit plan) in advance of the final
disposition of a proceeding, shall be made only upon delivery to the Company of
an undertaking, by or on behalf of such director or officer, to repay all
amounts so advanced if it shall ultimately be determined that such director or
officer is not entitled to be indemnified.

         The Georgia Code provides that a company may indemnify an individual
who was or is a party to a proceeding because he is or was a director or officer
against liability incurred in the proceeding if he acted in a manner he believed
in good faith to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the company, and,
in the case of any criminal proceeding, he had no reasonable cause to believe
his conduct unlawful. The termination of a proceeding by judgment, order,
settlement, conviction, or a plea of nolo contendere or its equivalent is not,
of itself, determinative that the director or officer did not meet the standard
of conduct set forth in the Georgia Code. However, no indemnification shall be
made of an officer or director in connection with a proceeding by or in the
right of the company in which the director or officer was adjudged liable to the
company or in connection with any other proceeding in which he was adjudged
liable on the basis that personal benefit was improperly received by him.
Indemnification in connection with a proceeding by or in the right of the
company is limited to reasonable expenses incurred in connection with the
proceeding.

         The Georgia Code further provides that a company shall not indemnify an
officer or director unless authorized in the specific case upon a determination
that indemnification of the director or officer is permissible in the
circumstances because he has met the applicable standard of conduct set forth
above and prescribes the persons who may make such determination.

         To the extent that a director or officer has been successful, on the
merits or otherwise, in defense of any proceeding to which he was a party or in
defense of any claim, issue or matter therein, he shall be indemnified against
reasonable expenses (including attorneys' fees) incurred by him in connection
therewith. The Company shall pay for the reasonable expenses incurred by a
director or officer who is a party to a proceeding in advance of the final
disposition of the proceeding if the director or officer furnishes the Company
notice as required under that director's or officer's indemnification agreement,
if one exists, a written affirmation of his good faith belief that he has met
the standard of conduct set forth above, and the director or officer furnishes
the Company a written undertaking, executed personally or on his behalf, to
repay any advances if it is ultimately determined that he is not entitled to
indemnification by the Company as authorized in Article 8.10 of the Company's
Bylaws.

ITEM 7.  EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION CLAIMED.

         Inapplicable.

                                       2
4

ITEM 8.  EXHIBITS.
Exhibit
               Number       Description
               -------      -----------
4          Flowers Foods, Inc. 2001 Equity and Performance Incentive Plan
                 5          Opinion of Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue re: legality
                23.1        Consent of Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue (included in Exhibit 5)
                23.2        Consent of PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP, independent auditors
                24          Power of Attorney
ITEM 9.  UNDERTAKINGS.

         (a)      The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:

                  (1)      To file, during any period in which offers or sales
                           are being made, a post-effective amendment to this
                           registration statement:

                                    (i) to include any prospectus required by
                           Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933;

                                    (ii) to reflect in the prospectus any facts
                           or events arising after the effective date of the
                           registration statement (or the most recent
                           post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually
                           or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change
                           in the information set forth in the registration
                           statement;

                                    (iii) to include any material information
                           with respect to the plan of distribution not
                           previously disclosed in the registration statement or
                           any material change to such information in the
                           registration statement;

                  provided, however, that sub-paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and
                  (a)(1)(ii) do not apply if the registration statement is on
                  Form S-3 or Form S-8, and the information required to be
                  included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is
                  contained in periodic reports filed by the registrant pursuant
                  to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act
                  of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in the registration
                  statement.

                  (2)      That, for the purpose of determining any liability
                           under the Securities Act of 1933, each such
                           post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new
                           registration statement relating to the securities
                           offered therein, and the offering of such securities
                           at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona
                           fide offering thereof; and

                  (3)      To remove from registration by means of a
                           post-effective amendment any of the securities being
                           registered which remain unsold at the termination of
                           the offering.

         (b)      The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for
                  purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act
                  or 1933, each filing of the registrant's annual report
                  pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Securities
                  Exchange Act of 1934 (and, where applicable, each filing of an
                  employee benefit plan's annual report pursuant to Section
                  15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) that is
                  incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall
                  be deemed to be a new

                                       3
5

                  registration statement relating to the securities offered
                  therein, and the offering of such securities at that time
                  shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

         (c)      Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the
                  Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers
                  and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the
                  foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been
                  advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange
                  Commission such indemnification is against public policy as
                  expressed in the Securities Act of 1933 and is, therefore,
                  unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification
                  against such liabilities (other than the payment by the
                  registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer
                  or controlling person of the registrant in the successful
                  defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such
                  director, officer or controlling person in connection with the
                  securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in
                  the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by
                  controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate
                  jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it
                  is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act of
                  1933 and will be governed by the final adjudication of such
                  issue.

                                       4
6

                                   SIGNATURES

         Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the
registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all
of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration
Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly
authorized, in the City of Thomasville, State of Georgia, on the 23rd day of
April, 2001.

                                    FLOWERS FOODS, INC.

                                    By: /s/ Amos R. McMullian
                                       -------------------------------------
                                       Amos R. McMullian
                                       Chairman of the Board of Directors
                                       and Chief Executive Officer

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration
Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the
date indicated:
Signature                                    Title                                  Date
               ---------                                    -----                                  ----
/s/ Amos R. McMullian
----------------------------------       Chairman of the Board of Directors and              April 23, 2001
Amos R. McMullian                        Chief Executive Officer (Principal
                                         Executive Officer)

/s/ Jimmy M. Woodward
----------------------------------       Vice President and Chief Financial Officer          April 23, 2001
Jimmy M. Woodward                        (Principal Accounting Officer)

/s/ G. Anthony Campbell
----------------------------------       Secretary and General Counsel                       April 23, 2001
G. Anthony Campbell

               *                                       Director
----------------------------------
Robert P. Crozer

               *                                       Director
----------------------------------
Edward L. Baker

               *                                       Director
----------------------------------
Jackie M. Ward
5
7

           Signature                                    Title                                 Date
           ---------                                    -----                                 ----
*                                       Director
----------------------------------
 C. Martin Wood III

               *                                       Director
----------------------------------
 Joe E. Beverly

               *                                       Director
----------------------------------
 J.V. Shields, Jr.

               *                                       Director
----------------------------------
 Franklin L. Burke

               *                                       Director
----------------------------------
 Langdon S. Flowers

               *                                       Director
----------------------------------
 Joseph L. Lanier

By: /s/ G. Anthony Campbell                                                              April 23, 2001
   -------------------------------
       G. Anthony Campbell
        Attorney-in-Fact
6
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                                  EXHIBIT INDEX
Exhibit
Number                                                Description                                          Index
------                                                -----------                                          -----
4                   Flowers Foods, Inc. 2001 Equity and Performance Incentive Plan                    Filed herewith
5                   Opinion of Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue re: legality                                Filed herewith
23.1                Consent of Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue (included in Exhibit 5)
23.2                Consent of PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP, independent public accountants            Filed herewith
24                  Power of Attorney                                                                 Filed herewith
8