It seems like you can't go anywhere without seeing Flamin' Hot
Cheetos. From food pop-ups to fashion
retailers to music videos to makeup tutorials.
This whole thing is bizarre to me.
Here's how Flamin' Hot went from a janitor's vision to a worldwide
phenomenon. This is Suddenly Obsessed.
The rise and popularity of Flamin' Hot is unlike anything else we've
ever seen in our portfolio.
It has a cult-like following that really goes beyond just being a
product and a snack.
It's actually considered a lifestyle.
Since launching Flamin' Hot Cheetos in 1992, Frito-Lay is continuing
to expand their Flamin' Hot product line.
There are 15 Flamin' Hot snacks from popcorn to Doritos.
It's easy to mistake Flamin' Hot's popularity for just another social
media trend, but experts say its success is actually a reflection of
America's shifting demographics and their desire for more intense
flavors. Flamin' Hot's rise started with this man, Richard Montañez.
Look, I have a PhD.
I've been poor, hungry, and determined.
Montañez was a janitor at Frito-Lay when he saw a message from the CEO
calling on all employees to act like owners.
I started, you know, researching my company, and I saw no products
that were catering to Latinos or to the person who loves spices.
Montañez grew up in a migrant farming community east of Los Angeles,
and even though Montañez says he didn't have a college degree or
formal business training, he prided himself on having an eye for
innovation. In a lot of Latino neighborhoods like mine that I grew up
in we have something that is called the elote man.
It's a vendor called the corn man, and he puts mayonnaise, butter,
cheese —however you want it —lime, chili.
I remember, I whistled and I said, "Let me have two." I'm eating, and
I'm thinking, "What could I do?
What could I create?" And then I looked at that, and it looked just
like Cheeto. I thought, "What if I put chili on a Cheeto?"
Montañez called Roger Enrico, Frito-Lay's CEO at the time, to
personally pitch his idea over the phone.
With the help of his wife, Montañez put together a formal
presentation, selling Frito-Lay executives on the promise of an
untapped market.
Richard's insights into the Hispanic consumer really helped us shape
and think about how we should talk to that consumer.
That was something that we relied on very heavily.
In 1992, the Flamin' Hot flavor was officially launched.
Today it's one of the top-selling snack flavors at Frito-Lay, a
company that has over 1,100 snacks in its arsenal.
The brand added Flamin' Hot peanuts in 1997, then Flamin' Hot Cheetos
puffs in 1999, and Flamin' Hot Limón crunchy Cheetos in 2002.
Since then, it's released 11 more snacks and even created a Flamin'
Hot fashion line with Forever21.
Flamin' Hot is actually the number one snack in spicy foods.
Flamin' Hot flavored snacks saw a 150% increase in sales from 2018 to
2019. One reason for the spike is the brand's strategic approach to
marketing its spicy snacks.
Remember, I'm Flamin' Hot and you're Flamin' not.
One of the most effective ways to market a snack right now is with an
influencer or a celebrity.
And you are definitely seeing Frito-Lay play into that.
They have musicians who have promoted the product.
Chance the Rapper is a big name.
He was in the Super Bowl last year with the Backstreet Boys, and they
were promoting a Flamin' Hot product.
You have Post Malone, who rebranded himself Post Limón to promote
Flamin' Hot Doritos. So you're seeing the brand try things and do
things in a way that connects with culture.
Can't touch this. And that makes it more shareable, and that makes
people hunger for the content and then potentially hunger for the
product. But more importantly, Flamin' Hot fans are showing
enthusiasm for unconventional Flamin' Hot experiences.
Mukbang, a video genre that originated in South Korea, attracts
millions of viewers who enjoy watching excessive amounts of food
being consumed in unusual ways.
Flamin' Hot has been a massive success in the Mukbang category on
YouTube, with the top post garnering over 20 million views.
In 2018, Frito-Lay, opened Flamin' Hot inspired pop-ups in New York
and Los Angeles, which quickly sold out while attracting a ton of
celebs and fans.
But while Flamin' Hot owes some of its popularity to A-list
endorsements, fan pages, and clever marketing schemes, there's a
quiet but seismic force underlying its elevation from snack food to
American pop culture icon: immigration.
Our demographics have been changing slowly but surely over time.
We've seen a great influx of Hispanics as well as Asians.
And when they immigrate to the United States, they bring their food
cultures with them, and many of their core flavors are on the spicier
side. And so, as they became a bigger part of our population, we
noticed that spicy flavors started popping up a little bit more.
And our millennial generation is the most willing generation to use
these flavors. America's preferences for new flavors are evolving in
lockstep with its changing populace.
The two fastest growing ethnic groups in America are Asian-Americans
and Hispanic Americans.
Between 2000 and 2018, the Asian-American population grew by nearly 7
3%. The Hispanic-American population also saw significant growth at 63
%. Experts say the explosive growth of these two communities are
impacting the types of flavors and ingredients used in restaurants
and snacks. What restaurants are buying in big numbers are flavors
that reflect their cultures.
Aleppo chili peppers, for example.
That's up about 25%.
Korean barbecue is also about 57%.
Habanero mango.
All these flavors that are reflective of these two fast-growing
demographic groups are what restaurants are serving in greater
numbers too. Oftentimes, trends that start in restaurants spill into
the snack world. Flamin' Hot chips might have been early in terms of
spicy and bold flavors in the snack world.
Research shows that the average American consumes 25% more spicy
snacks now than they did a decade ago.
And when you spread that across 350 million people, that's a lot of
spicy snacks.
But as appetites for spicy snacks grow, so do health concerns about
consuming them. In recent years, schools across the U.S.
have banned Flamin' Hot Cheetos due to growing concerns about the
snack chip's nutritional value and addictive properties.
And when rapper Lil Xan was sent to the hospital in 2018 after
consuming too many Flamin' Hot Cheetos, the incident was highly
publicized. Cheetos are dangerous.
They're one hell of a drug.
But are the chips really that harmful?
If someone has an underlying condition, like an ulcer, that can create
a situation that is very dangerous.
In people who don't have that underlying condition, the long-term
effects are concerning.
With children in particular, they're very vulnerable to this trifecta
of sugar, fat, and salt.
And so, this is something that really taps into their reward system
in a way that you don't see in adults.
From the Cheetle to the crunch, Flamin' Hot snacks are engineered to
keep people eating.
And it works, maybe too well.
There's a science to this compulsive consumption.
There are five phenomena that we can say are responsible for this.
The first one being a phenomenon known as vanishing caloric density.
And that's this idea that when we pop these Cheetos into our mouth,
they seem to just disappear.
That signals to the brain that we haven't really consumed any
calories. The second one is a phenomenon called bliss point.
And that leads to this idea of getting this trifecta of sugar, fat,
and salt and reaching the optimum level of pleasure
with each of those things.
The third phenomena is sensory specific satiation.
The idea that if you have a complex flavor layering, your brain stays
excited and wants more.
The fourth is a capsaicin endorphin rush.
Capsaicin is the chemical in spicy foods that signals to our brain
that we're in pain, causing our brains to release endorphins, or
feel-good molecules. And finally, there's sonic appeal.
That crunch.
Crunchiness leads people to believe that an item is fresh, which
tricks your body into thinking it's eating fresh foods.
As Flamin' Hot sales continue to climb, so are consumers' desires to
purchase healthier snacks.
And if you think Frito-Lay isn't paying attention to that demand,
you're wrong. When it comes to snacks that people might feel a little
bit better about eating,
Flamin' Hot is still front and center.
In 2019, Frito-Lay brought out Flamin' Hot Smartfood, the popcorn
brand. So it's paying attention to those people who still want
something with a little bit of spice, but want something that's also
maybe reduced fat or reduced sodium.
But there's a fine line between the actual nutritional value of the
snack and aspirational marketing.
This is supposed to be a healthier alternative to the Flamin' Hot
Cheetos. Looking at the nutrition facts, it's pretty similar to
Flamin' Hot Cheetos. So even if it's got maybe 10 calories fewer,
people are still craving this item because of how it's been designed
and are more inclined to perhaps finish the entire bag.
In a statement, Frito-Lay said Flamin' Hot's heat comes from a
naturally occurring spice and the amount of heat in one serving size
is equal to that of a jalapeño pepper, though they understand why
some fans have to consume the snack in moderation.
While Frito-Lay's healthier options fall short of what nutritionists
might consider healthy, the company is fending off would-be
competitors and continuing to dominate the spicy snack space.
There are a few brands that are front and center when it comes to
spicy things. Flamin' Hot is the gold standard I think.
And it does have some competition.
I mean, Takis has definitely brought out a lot of en fuego flavors.
And so, to keep that market and to keep its share of the market
growing, I think Frito Lay is going to be paying more attention to
those types of influencers and the celebrities who are already fans
of its product to bring in more consumers.
We want to continue to learn from our consumers about what is it they
want to see more of.
And we see this continued trend towards fusion.
Flamin' Hot's continued success can be credited to the company's
willingness to look to its workforce for new ideas, its openness to
try something bold, and its investment in America's changing
demographics. I think what makes Cheetos Flamin' Hot very special is
it originated here in the U.S., and it really came from how the
American population was evolving and what Americans wanted from their
snacking. And so it really does characterize truly what it means to
enjoy food in America.
What kind of food experiences you love in the U.S.
Whether it was a happy accident or a calculated risk, Flamin' Hot is a
true American success story.
This ain't over.