Janitor who claims he 'invented' Flamin' Hot Cheetos sues PepsiCo after his rags-to-riches story was debunked as an 'urban legend'
A former PepsiCo executive who claims he invented Flamin' Hot Cheetos while working as a janitor is suing the company for 'destroying his career'.
Richard Montañez spent decades telling anyone who would listen that he came up with the hugely popular flavor in 1991 and pitched it to executives.
His rags-to-riches story spawned a bestselling book, $50,000-a-pop on the speaking circuit, and a Disney+ film before it was debunked in 2021.
Frito-Lay, manufacturer of Cheetos, found 'the facts do not support the urban legend' and the flavor was instead crated by a team in Plano, Texas, in 1989.
Richard Montañez spent decades telling anyone who would listen that he came up with the hugely popular Flamin' Hot Cheetos flavor in 1991 and pitched it to executives
Montañez, the son of a Mexican immigrant who grew up in a migrant labor camp, began working for PepsiCo as a janitor at its Frito-Lay plant in Ranch Cucamonga, California, in 1977.
His story is that one day, a machine in Montañez's plant broke down, leaving a batch of unflavored Cheetos.
Montañez said 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.
He claimed he asked for a meeting with PepsiCo chief executive Roger Enrico to pitch his spicy Cheetos, confident they would be a hit with the Latino community.
Enrico granted the meeting in 1991, liked the presentation, and directed the company to develop spicy Cheetos, according to the lawsuit.
Montañez said PepsiCo sent him on speaking engagements and actively promoted his story.
But Montañez claimed that, in the meantime, the company's research and development department shut him out of its discussions and testing.
Montañez and his wife are pictured at a 2014 gala celebrating the contributions of Latinos
PepsiCo introduced Flamin' Hot Cheetos in 1992 and Montañez said 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.
He eventually became PepsiCo vice president of multicultural marketing and sales.
Montañez 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 that was even screened at the White House.
But according to the lawsuit, PepsiCo turned on Montañez in 2021, cooperating with a Los Angeles Times piece that claimed others in the company were already working on spicy snacks when Montañez approached them, and that they - not Montañez - came up with the name, Flamin' Hot.
Montañez 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 in the lawsuit that was filed July 18 in California Superior Court.
PepsiCo said it has no comment on the lawsuit.
His life story was made into a movie, Flamin' Hot, in 2023, starring Jesse Garcia (pictured) as Montañez
A junior employee named Lynne Greenfeld was assigned to create the brand and came up with the name, the company said.
Greenfield alerted Frito-Lay of Montañez's claims in 2018 and an internal investigation ensued.
'None of our records show that Montañez was involved in any capacity in the Flamin' Hot test market,' Frito-Lay said at the time.
'We have interviewed multiple personnel who were involved in the test market, and all of them indicate that Richard was not involved in any capacity in the test market.
'That doesn't mean we don't celebrate Richard, but the facts do not support the urban legend.'
Montañez subsequently spoke with Variety saying he was disappointed that Frito Lay publicly denied his story.
'I was their greatest ambassador,' he stated. 'But I will say this, you're going to love your company more than they will ever love you, keep that in perspective.'
Montañez (pictured in 2017) said PepsiCo's about-face has hurt his speaking career and other potential opportunities, including a documentary about his life
Montañez's rags-to-riches story spawned a bestselling book (pictured), $50,000-a-pop on the speaking circuit, and a Disney+ film before it was debunked in 2021
However, Frito Lay's parent company PepsiCo soon after backed up its ex-executive, without disputing that he hadn't been involved in creating Flamin' Hot Cheetos.
'The information we shared with the media has been misconstrued by some, which resulted in confusion around where we stand, a range of emotions among our employees and consumers and a strain on our valued friendship with Richard Montañez and the Latino community,' the statement read.
'Far from being an urban legend, Montañez had a remarkable 40-plus-year career at PepsiCo and made an incredible impact on our business and employees and continues to serve as an inspiration today.
'His insights and ideas on how to better serve Hispanic consumers were invaluable and directly resulted in the success of Flamin' Hot Cheetos.
'To be clear, we have no reason to doubt the stories he shares about taking the initiative to create new product ideas for the Cheetos brand, and pitching them to past PepsiCo leaders.'
The company claimed there were 'different work streams tackling the same product without interacting,' and that Montañez may possibly have had some part in the invention of Flamin' Hot Cheetos without their awareness.
