Many popular food brands have been consolidated into a couple of key companies. One of these is PepsiCo, home to Cheetos, Quaker Oats, and of course, it’s namesake, Pepsi. Because of this, many of the creators behind the individual products have been tossed to the wayside and not given appropriate credit. The most recent victim of this corporate culture is Richard Montañez, the creator of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.
Who is Richard Montañez?
Montañez started at PepsiCo as the son of a Mexican immigrant, accepting work as a janitor for Frito-Lay. He came up with the idea for Flamin’ Hot Cheetos during a rough patch for the company, realizing they could revitalize their brand through catering to a Latino audience and utilizing traditional elote spices. The story of his creation was so iconic that it was actually made into a movie in 2023, called, appropriately, Flamin’ Hot.
While at PepsiCo, he worked his way up the ranks, eventually serving as their Vice President of Multicultural Sales and Community Promotions. This is the position he remained in until 2019, when he retired from the company due to research into his “claims” as the creator of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.
What is PepsiCo being sued for?
Publicly, there wasn’t any speculation over Montañez’ stake in the product until 2021. Then, a flurry of articles and statements started coming out, saying Montañez assisted PepsiCo in many ways, but creating this product was not one of them. This has built up to such a point that now Montañez feels like it’s time to take things to court.
PepsiCo is being sued for fraud, racial discrimination, defamation, and violations of California’s unfair competition law. Not only is this claim by PepsiCo baffling if false, considering the amount of time the company has used Montañez and his story as promotion, but it has greatly harmed his reputation as a motivational speaker. In the press release regarding this, Montañez said, “ I created Flamin’ Hot Cheetos not only as a product but as a movement… 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. …I cannot let them take away my legacy or destroy my reputation. I will not let them silence me.”