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 snacks.
PepsiCo said Thursday it has no comment on the lawsuit, which was filed July 18 in California Superior Court.
According to his lawsuit, Richard Montanez began working for PepsiCo as a janitor at its Frito-Lay plant in Ranch Cucamonga, California, in 1977. Montanez was the son of a Mexican immigrant and grew up in a migrant labor camp.
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, the popular grilled seasoned corn served in Mexico.
In 1991, Montanez asked for a meeting with PepsiCo CEO Roger Enrico to pitch his spicy Cheetos, confident they would 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. But in the meantime, 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 Chili Fritos, and in 2000 he was promoted to a business development manager 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 is seeking damages for discrimination, fraud and defamation, among other charges.