Hot Dispute Over Origins of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos Ends in Court

A trial could soon settle a spicy dispute: who invented Flaming Cheetos?

A former PepsiCo executive is suing the company, claiming it destroyed his career after questioning his claims that he invented the popular PepsiCo flavor. Cheetos Snacks.

PepsiCo said Thursday he had no comment on the lawsuit, which was filed July 18 in California Superior Court.

According to his complaint, Richard Montañez began working for PepsiCo as a janitor at its Frito-Lay plant in Ranch Cucamonga, California, in 1977. Montañez was the son of a Mexican immigrant and grew up in a migrant labor camp.

One day, a machine at Montañez’s plant broke down, leaving behind a batch of flavorless Cheetos. Montañez says he took the batch home and sprinkled it with chili powder, trying to replicate the flavor of elote, the popular seasoned roasted corn served in Mexico.

In 1991, Montañez requested a meeting with PepsiCo CEO Roger Enrico to pitch his Spicy Cheetos, believing they would be a hit with the Latino community. Enrico accepted the meeting, enjoyed the presentation and asked the company to develop Spicy Cheetos, according to the complaint.

Montañez said PepsiCo sent him to lectures and actively promoted his story. But in the meantime, Montañez says the company’s research and development department excluded him from discussions and testing.

PepsiCo launched Flamin’ Hot Cheetos in 1992. Montañez says he continued to develop spicy snacks, such as Flamin’ Hot popcorn and chili lime Fritos, and in 2000 he was promoted to director of business development in Southern California. Montañez eventually became PepsiCo’s vice president of multicultural marketing and sales.

Montañez said the demand for speaking engagements was so great that he retired from PepsiCo in 2019 to become a full-time motivational speaker. He published a memoir in 2021 and his life story was realized in a movie“Flamin’ Hot”, in 2023.

But according to the lawsuit, PepsiCo went after Montañez in 2021, in cooperation with a Los Angeles Times article that claimed that others at the company were already working on spicy snacks when Montañez contacted them, and that it was they — not Montañez — who came up with the name “Flamin’ Hot.”

Montañez said PepsiCo’s reversal hurt his speaking career and other potential opportunities, including a documentary about his life.

He is seeking damages for discrimination, fraud and defamation.