Do you ever wonder how certain iconic snacks came about? Snacks like Oreos, Twinkies and Flamin’ Hot Cheetos have seemingly been around forever, but someone had to come up with those ideas at one point.
Flamin’ Hot, from Searchlight Pictures, seeks to tell the origin story of one of the most beloved snacks of all time – Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. The film is based on the story of Mexican Americans Richard and Judy Montañez, who may have invented the spicy snack. Montañez worked as a janitor for Frito-Lay, and later became a marketing executive at PepsiCo.
A few years ago, Montañez wrote a book on his incredible journey, Flamin’ Hot: The Incredible True Story of One Man’s Rise from Janitor to Top Executive, which is presumably the basis for the film.
Flamin’ Hot stars Jesse Garcia as Richard Montañez, is directed by Eva Longoria with a screenplay by Lewis Colick and Linda Yvette Chávez. It’s set to premiere on Hulu and Disney+ on June 9th. Check out the trailer below!
FLAMIN’ HOT is the inspiring true story of Richard Montañez (Jesse Garcia), the Frito Lay janitor who channeled his Mexican American heritage and upbringing to turn the iconic Flamin’ Hot Cheetos into a snack that disrupted the food industry and became a global pop culture phenomenon
Ron is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of POC Culture. Â He is a big believer in the power and impact of pop culture and the importance of representation in media.