![]() ![]() However, Frito Lay records suggest the latter didn’t work there until about six months after Flamin’ Hots were in the test market. Later, he did a presentation in front of Enrico and other company executives. He claimed Enrico’s motivational video pushed him to take charge of the situation. This gave him the idea to put chili powder on the Cheetos.Ī post shared by Richard Montanez discrepancies in Montañez’s narrative backed their findings. Montañez once saw a street vendor make Mexican grilled corn with lime and chili. He knew that they would be thrown away, so he took those Cheetos home and experimented with them. One day, a machine broke, leaving a batch of Cheetos undusted with orange cheese powder. Back then, Montañez worked as a janitor at Frito Lay’s plant in Rancho Cucamonga. In his memoir, ‘A Boy, a Burrito and a Cookie: From Janitor to Executive,’ he unveils the entire story behind it. Richard Montañez claimed to be the inventor of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos in the late 2000s, around two decades after it hit the market shelves. ![]() What’s the story behind this? Did he invent it or not? Let’s find out.ĭid Richard Montañez Invent Flamin’ Hot Cheetos? It is claimed that Montañez is not the creator of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. It is an incredibly inspirational tale, but it has also been at the center of controversy. We regret the confusion that has come from the recent speculation, but most importantly want Richard to know he is valued and cared for among PepsiCo’s employees and we only wish him happiness and success.The film traces Montañez’s journey from the beginning, showing us his family’s roots and how he worked his way up to become the successful person he is now. He is an inspiration and his story cannot be belittled. Richard is an important part of PepsiCo’s history and the success of the company. 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. We also know there was a separate division team developing a spicy product offering for Cheetos and other snack brands that were tested in market and found their way into permanent products on store shelves, including Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.ĭifferent work streams tackling the same product without interacting occasionally occurred in the past when divisions operated independently and were not the best at communicating. To be clear, 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. His insights and ideas on how to better serve Hispanic consumers were invaluable and directly resulted in the success of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. The sincere truth is, at PepsiCo, we believe in the strength and power of teams, and we attribute the launch and success of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos and other products to several people who worked at PepsiCo, including Richard Montañez.įar from being an urban legend, Richard had a remarkable 40-plus-year career at PepsiCo and made an incredible impact on our business and employees and continues to serve as an inspiration today.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |