PepsiCo defends Richard Montanez's claim about origin of Flamin' Hot Cheetos: 'His story cannot be belittled'
PepsiCo released a lengthy statement about the Flamin' Hot Cheetos controversy on Friday, May 21, in which the company expressed support for Richard Montanez, a former Frito-Lay executive whose claims to have invented the snack were debunked by the Los Angeles Times.
The announcement comes as Eva Longoria prepares to direct "Flamin' Hot," a biopic based on Montaez's life that will begin filming this summer. The film tells the inspiring story of a Frito-Lay janitor who came up with a bold idea for a spicy snack that went viral.
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PepsiCo has 'no reason' to doubt his stories
“A great deal has been recently discussed about the origin of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. The information we shared with the media has been misconstrued by some, which resulted in confusion around where we stand, a range of emotions among our employees and consumers and a strain on our valued friendship with Richard Montanez and the Latino community.," the statement said. The uproar for PepsiCo complicates a feel-good tale about the company's outreach to the Latino market.
"Far 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. His insights and ideas on how to better serve Hispanic consumers were invaluable and directly resulted in the success of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. 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," it added.
Richard 'is an important part' of PepisCo's success
"Richard is an important part of PepsiCo’s history and the success of the company. He is an inspiration and his story cannot be belittled. 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," it continued to say.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Montaez worked on other “Flamin' Hot” items, but Flamin' Hot Cheetos were developed by a different team years ago. Lewis Colick, the screenwriter of "Flamin' Hot," claimed earlier this week that "enough" of Montaez's story was real, though he admitted that it wasn't completely accurate.
Not everything in docu is exactly true
“We’re not in the documentary business,” Colick said, according to NBC News. “I’ve written a lot of true stories, like ‘October Sky.’ Not every single thing in the story is exactly true. I always stand behind the essence of the story.” Colick said that the core of Montanez's tale is right, but he did not vet it and has no idea who did. He mentioned that Frito-Lay executive Al Carey had endorsed Montanez and said that the product would not survive without him. Montanez's story continues to be supported by Carey.
However, in a statement to the LA Times when the news first broke, Frito-Lay wrote: “None of our records show that Richard was involved in any capacity in the Flamin’ Hot test market. 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. That doesn’t mean we don’t celebrate Richard, but the facts do not support the urban legend.”
Responding to Frito-Lay, Montanez said, “I was their greatest ambassador. But I will say this, you’re going to love your company more than they will ever love you, keep that in perspective.”