Maybe. And maybe that’s why nobody involved is saying much, trying not to draw attention to the case. But former Pepsi employee Richard Montanez may have lost his court bid to be formally recognised as the inventor of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos…
A little history…
The history on this story goes back de-cades, to a time when Montanez was a janitor at a PesiCo plant. He claims he was the one who first tried sprinkling hot chili powder seasoning on regular Cheetos to create what we now know as ‘Flamin’ Hot’ variety of the category-leading cheese puff.
His version of the story is, he appro-ached his superiors at the plant with the idea but was officially rebuffed. Un-officially, however, Montanez says the bosses continued in secret, developing the Flamin’ Hot product without ack-nowledging his contribution.
In a rags to riches saga, Montanez was eventually named Vice President of Multicultural Marketing and sales at PepsiCo – a title especially created for him, to acknowledge his specific con-tribution to marketing Pepsi products to the Hispanic market. A position he was apparently happy enough with until his next big life-change came along…
An adversarial approach
After he retired from Pepsi in 2019, Montanez said he wanted more. The result? He’s now suing Pepsi, alleging the company committed, ‘fraud, defamation, [and] racial discrimination, and violated Cali-fornia’s unfair competition law’.
He’s demanding a jury trial, restitution, and an order that requires PepsiCo and Frito-Lay to officially name him to be the ‘inventor’ of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.
The latest
Pepsi has stood it’s ground since the beginning of the Montanez affair. But Montanez has, similarly, refused to give in to increasing pressure from Pepsi to see the matter its way.
Late last week, the court granted PepsiCo and Frito-Lay’s motion for dismissal, ‘due to Montanez’s failure to provide additional facts that support his case’. He was given until June 13 to amend it, while PepsiCo will have until July 3 to counter.
More than meets the eye?
So why is Pepi making such a concerted effort to cruch Montanez’s case? I think it must be an abiding fear, on the company’s part, that if it gives in to his demands, it will be seen as conceding his claims. Which would leave the door open to Montanez to go further, claiming he’s due monumental financial compensation for all the years of ‘neglect’ Pepsi and denial has accorded his claim as the inventor of the ‘Flamin’ Hot’ flavour concept.
The truth is, ‘Flamin’ Hot’ has become a major success for Pepsi. And all he’s seen is a title and a handshake: “Thank you for your service.”
My take
I’m interested to see where this case goes. Will he get his jury trial? Will the court, in the end, agree with his claims that Pepsi gaslighted him on the whole Flamin’ Hot thing?
More as the story develops…
~ Maggie J.