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Miami Herald
2 days ago
- Miami Herald
Federal judge dismisses lawsuit over Flamin' Hot Cheetos origin story
A federal judge this week dismissed a lawsuit filed by the man who says he invented Flamin' Hot Cheetos. Richard Montañez had sued Frito-Lay and its parent company PepsiCo last year, alleging they defamed him and hurt his career by denying his role in creating the popular snack. Federal Judge John W. Holcomb of the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles wrote in his Wednesday ruling that Montañez's accusations of fraud and defamation were insufficient or lacked "factual support." But the battle over the origin story of the spicy junk food will remain in play for now. Montañez will have the opportunity to amend his lawsuit because "he may be able to cure the deficiencies in his pleading by alleging additional facts," the judge wrote. Montañez will have until June 13 to submit an amended complaint. His lawsuit came in the aftermath of a 2021 Los Angeles Times investigation that questioned his rags-to-riches story that had long circulated the internet and captured the hearts of fans of the snack and immigrant communities. The story goes that Montañez was working as a janitor at Frito-Lay's Rancho Cucamonga plant when he dreamed up a version of the Cheeto that would appeal to the Latino community and had the gumption to pitch his idea to an executive. The Times article cited chronological inconsistencies in Montañez's story, archival proof of the release of test products and comments by Frito-Lay executives. According to Montañez's lawsuit, he grew up in a Southern California migrant labor camp sharing an 800-square-foot, one-bedroom apartment with his parents and 10 siblings. He got the janitor job in the mid-1970s, and a decade later he and his wife experimented in their kitchen to create the new snack. In his lawsuit, he explained that he met resistance working with the research and development team while creating a spicy seasoning for mass production. "Dissatisfied that Mr. Montañez - a poor, uneducated Mexican plant worker and janitor - had successfully developed a new product, Frito-Lay's R&D personnel completely shut out Mr. Montañez from the development process," the lawsuit said. Montañez climbed PepsiCo's ranks, becoming the company's vice president of multicultural marketing and sales before retiring in 2019. In his lawsuit, Montañez said that the companies had sent him touring the country delivering inspiring talks in elite academic and business settings, and that as a result PepsiCo had "reaped tremendous benefits by affirmatively holding (Montañez) out as the inventor of Flamin' Hot Cheetos." But Holcomb, the judge, wrote that Montañez could not argue that PepsiCo and Frito-Lay's profiting off the premise that he invented the snack was unjust since Montañez "mutually benefitted from Defendants' decades-long support." Montañez's attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (Los Angeles Times staff writer Sandra McDonald contributed to this report.) Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Federal judge dismisses lawsuit over Flamin' Hot Cheetos origin story
A federal judge this week dismissed a lawsuit filed by the man who says he invented Flamin' Hot Cheetos. Richard Montañez had sued Frito-Lay and its parent company PepsiCo last year, alleging they defamed him and hurt his career by denying his role in creating the popular snack. Federal Judge John W. Holcomb of the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles wrote in his Wednesday ruling that Montañez's accusations of fraud and defamation were insufficient or lacked 'factual support.' But the battle over the origin story of the spicy junk food will remain in play for now. Montañez will have the opportunity to amend his lawsuit because 'he may be able to cure the deficiencies in his pleading by alleging additional facts," the judge wrote. Montañez will have until June 13 to submit an amended complaint. Read more: The man who didn't invent Flamin' Hot Cheetos His lawsuit came in the aftermath of a 2021 Los Angeles Times investigation that questioned his rags-to-riches story that had long circulated the internet and captured the hearts of fans of the snack and immigrant communities. The story goes that Montañez was working as a janitor at Frito-Lay's Rancho Cucamonga plant when he dreamed up a version of the Cheeto that would appeal to the Latino community and had the gumption to pitch his idea to an executive. The Times article cited chronological inconsistencies in Montañez's story, archival proof of the release of test products and comments by Frito-Lay executives. According to Montañez's lawsuit, he grew up in a Southern California migrant labor camp sharing an 800-square-foot, one-bedroom apartment with his parents and 10 siblings. He got the janitor job in the mid-1970s, and a decade later he and his wife experimented in their kitchen to create the new snack. Read more: He says he invented Flamin' Hot Cheetos. He didn't, said Frito-Lay. Now he's suing In his lawsuit, he explained that he met resistance working with the research and development team while creating a spicy seasoning for mass production. 'Dissatisfied that Mr. Montañez — a poor, uneducated Mexican plant worker and janitor — had successfully developed a new product, Frito-Lay's R&D personnel completely shut out Mr. Montañez from the development process,' the lawsuit said. Montañez climbed PepsiCo's ranks, becoming the company's vice president of multicultural marketing and sales before retiring in 2019. In his lawsuit, Montañez said that the companies had sent him touring the country delivering inspiring talks in elite academic and business settings, and that as a result PepsiCo had "reaped tremendous benefits by affirmatively holding [Montañez] out as the inventor of Flamin' Hot Cheetos." But Holcomb, the judge, wrote that Montañez could not argue that PepsiCo and Frito-Lay's profiting off the premise that he invented the snack was unjust since Montañez "mutually benefitted from Defendants' decades-long support." Montañez's attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Times staff writer Sandra McDonald contributed to this report. Sign up for our Wide Shot newsletter to get the latest entertainment business news, analysis and insights. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
2 days ago
- Los Angeles Times
Federal judge dismisses lawsuit over Flamin' Hot Cheetos origin story
A federal judge this week dismissed a lawsuit filed by the man who says he invented Flamin' Hot Cheetos. Richard Montañez had sued Frito-Lay and its parent company PepsiCo last year, alleging they defamed him and hurt his career by denying his role in creating the popular snack. Federal Judge John W. Holcomb of the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles wrote in his Wednesday ruling that Montañez's accusations of fraud and defamation were insufficient or lacked 'factual support.' But the battle over the origin story of the spicy junk food will remain in play for now. Montañez will have the opportunity to amend his lawsuit because 'he may be able to cure the deficiencies in his pleading by alleging additional facts,' the judge wrote. Montañez will have until June 13 to submit an amended complaint. His lawsuit came in the aftermath of a 2021 Los Angeles Times investigation that questioned his rags-to-riches story that had long circulated the internet and captured the hearts of fans of the snack and immigrant communities. The story goes that Montañez was working as a janitor at Frito-Lay's Rancho Cucamonga plant when he dreamed up a version of the Cheeto that would appeal to the Latino community and had the gumption to pitch his idea to an executive. The Times article cited chronological inconsistencies in Montañez's story, archival proof of the release of test products and comments by Frito-Lay executives. According to Montañez's lawsuit, he grew up in a Southern California migrant labor camp sharing an 800-square-foot, one-bedroom apartment with his parents and 10 siblings. He got the janitor job in the mid-1970s, and a decade later he and his wife experimented in their kitchen to create the new snack. In his lawsuit, he explained that he met resistance working with the research and development team while creating a spicy seasoning for mass production. 'Dissatisfied that Mr. Montañez — a poor, uneducated Mexican plant worker and janitor — had successfully developed a new product, Frito-Lay's R&D personnel completely shut out Mr. Montañez from the development process,' the lawsuit said. Montañez climbed PepsiCo's ranks, becoming the company's vice president of multicultural marketing and sales before retiring in 2019. In his lawsuit, Montañez said that the companies had sent him touring the country delivering inspiring talks in elite academic and business settings, and that as a result PepsiCo had 'reaped tremendous benefits by affirmatively holding [Montañez] out as the inventor of Flamin' Hot Cheetos.' But Holcomb, the judge, wrote that Montañez could not argue that PepsiCo and Frito-Lay's profiting off the premise that he invented the snack was unjust since Montañez 'mutually benefitted from Defendants' decades-long support.' Montañez's attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Times staff writer Sandra McDonald contributed to this report.
Toronto Sun
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Toronto Sun
Judge dismisses suit of ex-janitor who says he invented Flamin' Hot Cheetos
Published May 30, 2025 • 4 minute read PepsiCo executive Richard Montanez accepts the Inspiration Award onstage at the 2014 Latinos De Hoy Awards presented by Hoy & Los Angeles Times at Los Angeles Times Chandler Auditorium on Oct. 11, 2014 in Los Angeles, Calif. Photo by Imeh Akpanudosen / Getty Images for Los Angeles Times For years, the purported origin story of Flamin' Hot Cheetos flourished through the internet and beyond as a spicy retelling of the American Dream, with self-proclaimed inventor of the snack Richard Montanez recounting how he came up with the idea while working as janitor for Frito-Lay. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account But a Los Angeles Times investigation in 2021 threw a wrench into the rags-to-riches tale, with Frito-Lay disputing Montanez's claim and telling the newspaper that 'the facts do not support the urban legend.' The origin story of the snack remains in dispute after a federal judge this week dismissed a lawsuit filed by Montanez against Frito-Lay and its parent company, PepsiCo. U.S. District Judge John W. Holcomb ruled that Montanez's accusations of fraud and defamation were either largely deficient or lacking 'factual support,' but wrote that he would allow Montanez a chance to fix his lawsuit 'because he may be able to cure the deficiencies in his pleading by alleging additional facts.' Montanez will have until June 13 to file an amended complaint, according to the ruling. If he does not, the court will dismiss the lawsuit. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Attorneys for Montanez and PepsiCo did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday morning. The complaint accused PepsiCo and Frito-Lay of causing undue harm to Montanez's career as a public speaker and consultant. As the 'Godfather of Latino Marketing,' Montanez had been booking 35 engagements a year at $10,000 to $50,000 apiece, but he stopped receiving those invitations as a result of what he describes in the lawsuit as the companies' 'open racism and blatant lies.' According to the lawsuit, Montanez grew up in a Southern California migrant labor camp sharing an 800-square-foot, one-bedroom apartment with his parents and 10 siblings. He got a job in the mid-1970s as a janitor at Frito-Lay's plant in Rancho Cucamonga, just east of Los Angeles, where, more than a decade later, he was inspired by a combination of a company program paying workers $1 for helpful ideas and CEO Roger Enrico encouraging all his employees to 'act like owners,' his suit states. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. He and his wife started experimenting in their kitchen to create new snack flavours, particularly those that he believed he would appeal to Latinos like him, eventually coming up with the idea of applying the flavours of the elote, or grilled Mexican street corn covered in cheese, butter, lime and chili, to the Cheeto, Montanez wrote in his memoir. He bought his first-ever tie for $3 to present the idea to Enrico, and, as the story goes, the rest was history. Flamin' Hot Cheetos went on to become a sensation, transcending Cheetos to inspire other chili-flavoured snacks and becoming a cultural touchstone, inspiring rap songs, memes, clothing and even Katy Perry's Halloween costume in 2014. Fueled by this success, Montanez rose through the ranks to become PepsiCo's vice president of multicultural marketing and sales, retiring in 2019. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Montanez's account of the origin story of Flamin' Hot Cheetos has been told in two best-selling memoirs and a movie released in 2023 that was directed by Eva Longoria. 'I created Flamin' Hot Cheetos not only as a product but as a movement and as a loyal executive for PepsiCo,' Montanez said in a statement last year. '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.' Holcomb wrote in his ruling that 'Montanez and Defendants mutually benefitted from Defendants' decades-long support' of Montanez's story. The lawsuit claimed that the companies sent him across the country to talk about inventing the snack with high-powered politicians, captains of industry and elite academics. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. But after a former Frito-Lay employee contacted the company to challenge Montanez's account in 2018, Frito-Lay launched an investigation, according to the LA Times . '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,' the company said in a statement to the Times. 'That doesn't mean we don't celebrate Richard,' the statement continued, 'but the facts do not support the urban legend.' Five days after the LA Times article was published, PepsiCo issued a statement about Montanez's contributions, calling him 'an important part of PepsiCo's history and the success of the company.' The company noted that while '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,' a separate division team had also been developing spicy flavours 'that were tested in market and found their way into permanent products on store shelves, including Flamin' Hot Cheetos.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'Different work streams tackling the same product without interacting occasionally occurred in the past when divisions operated independently and were not the best at communicating,' the statement said, according to media reports at the time. 'However, just because we can't draw a clear link between them doesn't mean we don't embrace all of their contributions and ingenuity, including Richard's.' In his lawsuit, Montanez said his former employer had 'promised to continue to support, and to continue to tell the true story' of how he created Flamin' Hot Cheetos. Holcomb wrote that status as the creator of Flamin' Hot Cheetos 'was not an express term or benefit of his employment.' Crime World Toronto & GTA World Toronto Raptors
Washington Post
3 days ago
- Business
- Washington Post
Judge dismisses suit of ex-janitor who says he invented Flamin' Hot Cheetos
For years, the purported origin story of Flamin' Hot Cheetos flourished through the internet and beyond as a spicy retelling of the American Dream, with self-proclaimed inventor of the snack Richard Montañez recounting how he came up with the idea while working as janitor for Frito-Lay. But a Los Angeles Times investigation in 2021 threw a wrench into the rags-to-riches tale, with Frito-Lay disputing Montañez's claim and telling the newspaper that 'the facts do not support the urban legend.'
