The snacks hit test markets in 1990, two years before Montañez says he pitched his products in 1992. And then there was Lynne Greenfield, who came up with the flavor, the name, and the original packaging ideas. There was Sharon Owens, a product manager who took up spicy snack development. There was Fred Lindsay, a salesman in the Chicago region who saw spicy snacks taking off and wanted Frito-Lay to compete. In fact, the Flamin’ Hot line was the brainchild of a few people within Frito-Lay. “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,” said Frito-Lay in a statement. In a massive report published over the weekend, the Times meticulously rips apart the story, showing how Flamin’ Hot snacks were already on the market by the time Montañez pitched his snack ideas, how Montañez has changed his story over the years, and how those involved with the Flamin’ Hot line’s development are baffled as to how Montañez claimed it was his idea. He is even going to be portrayed in a new movie, produced by Eva Longoria.Īccording to the LA Times, though, the story is mostly a lie. Of course they were a hit, he rose up to the C-suite, and now he makes a living writing memoirs and being a motivational speaker. He also created his own spice blend for executives to try. In his telling, after seeing an internal video encouraging all Frito-Lay employees to “act like owners,” he told the CEO that spicy snacks were all the rage in Hispanic neighborhoods, and that they were missing out on a huge market. Since 2007, Richard Montañez has been peddling the feel-good story to end all feel-good stories - that as a janitor at a Frito-Lay plant in Rancho Cucamonga, he successfully pitched the company on creating Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.
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