A Hot Cheetos Lawsuit Was Just Filed And Things Are Getting Spicy

You may remember that Flamin' Hot Cheetos were featured in an inspiring and lighthearted biographical film directed by actress Eva Longoria last year. However, that fairytale story now has a dark twist: The subject of the "Flamin' Hot" film and self-proclaimed inventor of Flamin' Hot Cheetos, Richard Montañez, has now filed a lawsuit against Frito-Lay, owned by PepsiCo.

The lawsuit alleges PepsiCo enacted a "smear campaign" against Montañez and that the creator of Flamin' Hot was a victim of fraud, racial discrimination, defamation, and violations of California's unfair competition law at the hands of the company. Per a press release from the law firm representing Montañez, the former PepsiCo senior executive is seeking a jury trial, damages, and restitution.

As part of the "smear campaign", Montañez alleges PepsiCo used media coverage to attempt to discredit the former exec as the creator of Flamin' Hot Cheetos and diminish his role in launching the multi-billion dollar Flamin' Hot line of chips. There has been reporting that at least partially debunks Montañez's claim of inventing Flamin' Hot Cheetos; per a 2021 story in the Los Angeles Times, while Montañez did pitch Flamin' Hot Popcorn to Frito-Lay in 1992, the Midwest division of the company began testing Flamin' Hot Cheetos in 1990. Also in 2021, Frito-Lay told NPR reporter Sarah Aida Gonzalez that Montañez was involved in developing test products for the Southern California market in 1992 that may or may not have included spicy Cheetos, but the company didn't credit him as the sole inventor of Flamin' Hot Cheetos.

This media coverage has allegedly led to the cancellation of various speaking engagements, book deals, and a documentary for Montañez. For that reason, Montañez is also seeking an order to prevent PepsiCo and Frito-Lay from claiming that he did not create Flamin' Hot Cheetos.

For those who did not see the film, Montañez's "rags to riches" story, as described in the lawsuit, began when he worked for Frito-Lay as a janitor. Montañez recognized that the snack market lacked products with flavor profiles that appealed to the Hispanic community, and he dreamed of coming up with a snack idea to fill this gap.

The court filing alleges that in 1992, when a production mishap led to a batch of unseasoned Cheetos, Montañez took the unseasoned chips home and began experimenting by adding chili powder to them. Eventually, Montañez found the right seasoning combination and took the idea to the then-CEO of Frito Lay/PepsiCo, Roger Enrico.

In Montañez's telling, this invention launched his career, leading the former janitor to become PepsiCo's vice president of multicultural sales & marketing and an inspirational speaker. "I created Flamin' Hot Cheetos not only as a product but as a movement and as a loyal executive for PepsiCo," said Montañez in the 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." The Takeout reached out to PepsiCo for its side of the story, but the company declined to comment on the pending litigation.