Fox Searchlight making a movie about the man who invented Flamin' Hot Cheetos
I could see this being similar to The Founder:
http://variety.com/2018/film/news/flamin-hot-cheetos-movie-devon-franklin-fox-searchlight-1202707879/
Fox Searchlight and DeVon Franklin are set to produce the film “Flamin’ Hot,” which will tell the true story of Richard Montanez, who rose from humble beginnings to a successful businessman when he created a food phenomenon — Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.
Fox Searchlight nabbed the project in what was a highly competitive sale, with multiple studios vying for the project.
The film follows Montanez, the son of an immigrant, who grew up as a migrant farm worker picking grapes in the fields of Southern California before becoming a janitor at Frito-Lay. It was while working at the company that Montanez came up with the idea to create Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, transforming the Frito-Lay brand into a pop culture phenomenon and disrupting the entire food industry in the process. Now commonly referred to as the Godfather of Multicultural Marketing, it was that initial idea that would spark a billion-dollar brand and catapult him from janitor to elite corporate executive.
The story goes that one day in the mid 70s, the machine broke down and didn't put on enough cheese for some Cheetos chips. Montanez brought some home and added some chili pepper. Gave a few to friends and family to try and they loved it.
He was able to set up a meeting with the Frito-Lay President himself. As someone who barely spoke English and didn't have a high school education, Montanez felt like he was going to die from his nervousness. He quickly bought a tie and went to a library to get the basics down on how to give a pitch at a business meeting.
Meeting was a success. Flamin' Hot Cheetos was born. And Montanez' success led to KFC and Taco Bell taking their own chances and expanding into more Multicultural avenues with their own food products. share