Former PepsiCo janitor turned CEO Richard Montañez is suing the company for denying he invented Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.
The lawsuit alleges his career was ruined after the food giant questioned his claims, the Associated Press reported.
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Richard Montañez sues PepsiCo for defamation
Montañez filed the lawsuit on July 10 in California Superior Court. He claims PepsiCo initially supported him and promoted his story and the film made about his invention. However, they later turned against him and sided with former employees who claim he was not the inventor. Richard is now suing for damages for discrimination, fraud, and defamation. The former PepsiCo employee says the company’s stance has hurt his speaking career and other potential opportunities. Richard says a documentary about his life was canceled because of the company’s new stance.
According to the lawsuit, Richard’s story began when he worked for PepsiCo as a janitor at the Frito-Lay plant in Rancho Cucamonga, California, in 1977. He was the son of Mexican immigrants and grew up in a migrant labor camp. One day, a machine at Montañez’s plant broke down, leaving a batch of unflavored Cheetos. He then took them home. Richard experimented with chili powder to try to recreate the flavor of elote, a popular Mexican toasted corn flavor. After achieving the flavor he wanted, he asked to meet with PepsiCo CEO Roger Enrico in 1991 to pitch his spicy Cheetos. Richard believed the Latino community would appreciate the new snack. Enrico agreed to the meeting and liked Montañez’s presentation, the lawsuit says. So he directed the company to develop a new form of Cheetos.
Richard Montañez’s Great Success Then Decline
The lawsuit alleges that PepsiCo sent Richard on speaking engagements and fully supported his claim that he created the spicy potato chips. However, he said the company’s research and development departments excluded him from discussions and testing. Flamin’ Hot Cheetos were introduced to the market in 1992, and Richard said he went on to develop more snacks like Flamin’ Hot Popcorn and Lime and Chili Fritos. As a result, he was promoted to director of business development in Southern California. Montañez was eventually promoted to vice president of multicultural marketing and sales at PepsiCo. He was so sought after for his speaking engagements that he retired from the company in 2019 to become a full-time motivational speaker. Talk about a surprising story! Devon Franklin, Meagan Good’s ex-husband, produced the 2023 movie ‘Flamin’ Hot’ based on his life.
PepsiCo became a rival of Montañez in 2021 after linking to a Los Angeles Times article claiming he was not involved in creating Flamin’ Hot. Former employees said they were working on spicy snacks when Montañez approached them and that they came up with the name ‘Flamin’ Hot’, not Richard. Entertainment Weekly reported in 2023 that Frito-Lay did not deny the story. However, they claimed, “Some of the information we shared with the media was misinterpreted.” Furthermore, the company said this “…leading to confusion about our location” and placed a “strain our precious friendship with Richard Montañez…” Furthermore, the brand said Richard “is an important part of [their] history” and give him some credit “success.”
The company should clarify their statement because Richard seemed angry that they were playing with his name.
Associated Press writer Dee-Ann Durbin contributed to this article.
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