The idea, he said, was ultimately accepted following a presentation to over 100 company personnel as well as Roger Enrico, the CEO of Frito-Lay at the time. He sent samples to Frito-Lay executives, but didn’t hear back. With his wife, Judy, the two concocted a spicy seasoning. I thought, we don’t have anything for people who like spices.”Īccording to his account, Montañez got some plain, unflavored Cheetos from the factory. And I looked at our Lay’s, Ruffles, Fritos. “I saw people buying Chile peppers,” Montañez told NPR in 2021. "CEO or janitor, act like you own the company.According to a 2021 Los Angeles Times report, Montañez’s oft-shared story was that he was employed as a maintenance worker at a Frito-Lay plant in Rancho Cucamonga, California, in the late 1980s when he was inspired to add a hot chili pepper-style flavor to the company’s Cheetos snack. "Don't take your position for granted, regardless of what that position may be," Montañez writes. The former janitor realizes that his life would probably look very different today had he not called up Enrico, and he uses that fact to inspire and encourage others. Fox Searchlight Pictures is even making a movie about his rags-to-riches story. He climbed his way up the corporate ladder within PepsiCo to executive level and now he gives motivational talks and presents to companies on the importance of diversity in business. Montañez's career took off after the presentation. Today, the spicy version of the classic snack is one of Frito-Lay's most popular items and has evolved into a cultural phenomenon. "They were amazed at the product design," he recalls, and Flamin' Hot Cheetos was born. Montañez headed straight to the library to check out books on marketing, designed a unique bag to package his product and walked into the meeting wearing a $3 tie. Enrico then gave Montañez two weeks to prepare a presentation for the company executives. He got the CEO's assistant on the line, who helped put him through to the CEO. He decided to do just that: "I called him up, not knowing you weren't supposed to call the CEO." After all, the CEO at the time, Roger Enrico, had sent out a video "telling all employees he wanted them to take ownership of the company," Montañez writes. His friends and family liked the taste, so he decided to pitch the product to the CEO. Montañez took the plain Cheetos home and experimented with putting chili powder on them, an idea inspired by a street vendor in his neighborhood, who made Mexican grilled corn with lime and chili. The idea for Flamin' Hot Cheetos came to him when, one day, a machine broke in the assembly line and a batch of Cheetos didn't get dusted with their standard orange cheese powder. He returned the application later that day and the company hired him as a janitor. He went to the Frito-Lay plant in Southern California, asked for an application and had his future wife fill it out on his behalf, since he "could barely read or write," he recalls. He was working at a car wash when a friend came by and told him that Frito-Lay was hiring. "I learned at that moment that there was something special about being different, that there was a reason that we all just couldn't fit into the same box," Montañez writes.Īfter struggling to pick up on basic reading and writing in school, Montañez dropped out before getting his diploma and worked a series of low-paying jobs, including slaughtering chickens and gardening.
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