The Inventor Of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos Is Suing PepsiCo

Everyone loves Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, but not many know about the man who invented them, Richard Montañez. Last year’s box office hit “Flamin’ Hot,” helped shed light on his inspiring rags-to-riches story. Montañez, also a former senior executive at PepsiCo, Inc., is now suing the company for fraud, racial discrimination, defamation, and violations of California’s unfair competition law. 

The 62-page complaint was filed on July 18 in the Superior Court of the State of California in San Bernardino, and it seeks a jury trial, damages, restitution, and an order preventing PepsiCo and Frito-Lay from claiming that Mr. Montañez is not the creator of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. 

“I created Flamin’ Hot Cheetos not only as a product but as a movement and as a loyal executive for PepsiCo,” said Mr. Montañez in a press release. “PepsiCo believed in me as a leader because they knew people would follow me, and they did because they knew my soul is my community. We built this into a $2 billion industry, and I cannot let them take away my legacy or destroy my reputation. I will not let them silence me. 

If you’re unfamiliar with his story, Montañez was a high school dropout and janitor who worked for Frito-Lay in Southern California. His idea for Flamin’ Hot Cheetos helped PepsiCo better access the Hispanic community and made the company billions of dollars. In his time there, Montañez worked his way up from a janitor to becoming PepsiCo’s Vice President, Multicultural Sales & Marketing, and beyond. 

Despite his contributions, he alleges that PepsiCo has been attempting to disavow him of any role in creating Flamin’ Hot Cheetos and that the “smear campaign” has negatively impacted his current career as an inspirational speaker, particularly with the Hispanic community. 

According to Eric George, a partner at Ellis George LLP working on behalf of Montañez, “This complaint speaks for itself, and we are looking forward to presenting the merits of this case to a jury.”