Ex-PepsiCo Exec Is Suing Over Flamin' Hot Cheetos

Richard Montanez says he invented Flamin' Hot Cheetos, claims company ruined his career
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jul 26, 2024 8:59 AM CDT
Ex-PepsiCo Exec Sues: I Invented Flamin' Hot Cheetos
Flamin' Hot Cheetos are seen in a market in South Los Angeles on Aug. 22, 2008.   (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

A court case could soon settle a spicy dispute: Who invented Flamin' Hot Cheetos? A former PepsiCo executive is suing the company, saying it destroyed his career after questioning his claim that he invented the popular flavor of Cheetos. According to his lawsuit, Richard Montanez began working for PepsiCo as a janitor at its Frito-Lay plant in Rancho Cucamonga, California, in 1977. Montanez was the son of a Mexican immigrant and grew up in a migrant labor camp, per the AP. One day, a machine in Montanez's plant broke down, leaving a batch of unflavored Cheetos. Montanez says he took the batch home and dusted them with chili powder, trying to replicate the flavor of elote, a grilled and seasoned corn popular in Mexico.

In 1991, Montanez asked for a meeting with PepsiCo CEO Roger Enrico to pitch his spicy Cheetos, confident they'd be a hit with the Latino community; Enrico granted the meeting, liked the presentation, and directed the company to develop spicy Cheetos, according to the lawsuit. Montanez said PepsiCo sent him on speaking engagements and actively promoted his story. In the meantime, however, Montanez claims the company's research and development department shut him out of its discussions and testing. PepsiCo introduced Flamin' Hot Cheetos in 1992. Montanez says he continued to develop spicy snacks, like Flamin' Hot Popcorn and Lime and Chile Fritos, and in 2000 he was promoted to a business development manager position in Southern California. Montanez eventually became PepsiCo's vice president of multicultural marketing and sales.

Montanez said demand for speaking engagements was so great that he retired from PepsiCo in 2019 to become a motivational speaker full time. He published a memoir in 2021, and his life story was made into a movie, Flamin' Hot, in 2023. But according to the lawsuit, PepsiCo turned on Montanez in 2021, cooperating with a Los Angeles Times piece that claimed others in the company were already working on spicy snacks when Montanez approached them, and that they—not Montanez—came up with the name "Flamin' Hot." Montanez said PepsiCo's about-face has hurt his speaking career and other potential opportunities, including a documentary about his life. He's seeking damages for discrimination, fraud, and defamation, among other charges. PepsiCo said Thursday it has no comment on the lawsuit, which was filed July 18 in California Superior Court.

(More Cheetos stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X