Garden pledges review following world record attempt incident

Bakery brand Garden has promised to review its event management procedures following widespread criticism over the chaotic execution of a Guinness World Record attempt involving over 700 primary school students.

The event, held at SKH Tang Shiu Kin Secondary School in Wan Chai on Sunday (11 October), brought together pupils from 100 primary schools for the "largest sandwich-making lesson." Organised to celebrate Garden’s 100th anniversary, the initiative aimed to encourage healthy breakfast habits among children. Outfitted in blue-and-white checkered aprons, students were given 30 minutes to prepare sandwiches together.

However, parents and attendees quickly took to social media, including Threads, to report severe disorganisation. Complaints highlighted a lack of separate entrances and exits, as well as the event running nearly an hour behind schedule. Discontent escalated during dismissal when staff used a low-volume megaphone to call student numbers in batches, prompting anxious crowds to push forward.

Desperate to collect their children, rushing parents pulled at the main hall door with enough force to break the handle.

Footage posted online showed chaotic scenes with trash and debris covering the floor, while crowds of children remained stuck in corridors waiting to exit. Netizens noted that the bottleneck nearly triggered a stampede, describing the situation as dangerous and noting it was fortunate that no injuries occurred.

Parents further reported that students were forced to stand for over two hours while guardians watched a malfunctioning livestream that frequently cut to colour bars. Attendees also criticised organisers for making children repeatedly remove and throw their aprons into the air for a group photo shoot.



Garden told local media outlets such as HK01, Sing Tao Headline and The Standard that at the end of the event, due to large crowds and long waiting times, some parents became chaotic and pushed, causing the door handle to fall off. Staff immediately controlled the situation, and no one was injured.

Garden expressed regret over the incident and pledged to conduct a thorough review of its admission procedures and crowd management protocols for future large-scale events.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to Garden for a statement.

Photo courtesy: Threads accounts @bluuu1027, @wcgogo

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