The latest news, trends, analysis, interviews and podcasts from the global food and beverage industry
PepsiCo has won a key victory in the legal dispute over the origins of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, after a US federal court dismissed a lawsuit brought by former Frito-Lay's executive Richard Montañez.
Montañez, who claims to have invented the popular spicy snack, sued PepsiCo and its Frito-Lay division in 2024, alleging fraud, racial discrimination, defamation and violations of California’s unfair competition law for denying that he was behind the idea for Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, following a 2021 Los Angeles Times article that questioned his role in the product’s development.
In an order issued last week, judge John W Holcomb of the US District Court for the Central District of California granted PepsiCo’s motion to dismiss and to strike the complaint under California’s anti-SLAPP statute, which protects against lawsuits targeting free speech on matters of public interest.
The judge ruled that Montañez had failed to plausibly allege defamation or other claims, noting that many of his assertions about PepsiCo’s alleged 'false and misleading' statements were based on subjective interpretations, not verifiable facts.
Montañez had argued that PepsiCo harmed his reputation and career as a motivational speaker by questioning his claim to have invented Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. However, the court found that Montañez is at least a 'limited-purpose public figure' in this debate, meaning he would need to prove that PepsiCo acted with actual malice, something the court said he had not done.
The dismissal allows Montañez the opportunity to file an amended complaint by 13 June; if he does not, the case will be dismissed with prejudice.