LONDON, Ky. (LEX 18) — One small snack has made a big impact in London, Kentucky, where the honey bun isn't just a breakfast staple — it's a hometown claim to fame.
Flowers Foods has been a cornerstone of the London community since 1953, providing hundreds of jobs and producing millions of honey buns weekly. The bakery on East Fourth Street houses more than 600 employees who make an average of 10 million honey buns per week.
"Flowers Foods is a big contributor to hundreds of jobs to our economy and to our people who live here so they've been around since 1953," said Kailyn Smith, London Tourism Marketing and Events Assistant. "They have been supplying not only our community with that substantial job force, but also they're supplying the world with millions and millions of Honey Buns and pastries and all the good stuff."
To celebrate what makes London unique, the community launched a festival in 2022 dedicated to its stickiest success story.
"Honey Bun Day is deemed the sweetest day of the year here in London," Smith said.
On October 18, downtown will be glazed with excitement as the festival returns with a full lineup of activities. The day features live music, inflatables for kids and food trucks serving honey bun-inspired creations.
"They come up with the coolest concoctions to add a twist to the classic Honey Bun and they add those to their menus so we always like to see what they come up with every year," Smith said.
The festival includes a cooking competition called "Taste the Buns," where chefs and food lovers showcase creative uses for the snack.
"People would bring Honey Bun cheeseburgers and Honey Bun cheesecakes. It gets really fun and putting a cool twist on the classic treat," Smith said.
The celebration begins early at the community center with a makers market and brunch served from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
"Brunch will be served from 9 to 1 here as well, so come and get ya a Honey Bun breakfast sandwich. Also don't forget, this is one of the last weekends for the farmers market as well so just head next door and hit both spots and do your shopping," Smith said.
The highlight of the day is a record attempt where thousands of people take a bite of a free honey bun at the exact same time. Last year's record was just over 1,000 participants, and organizers are hungry to break it this year.
"There will be one lucky winner win $1,000 for just participating in the challenge so come out, eat a Honey Bun, try to win," Smith said.
