When did Flamin' Hot Cheetos come out?

In 1976, a janitor who worked in the Frito-Lay plant pitched the idea of the Flamin' Hot Cheetos to the company. It was a hit with the Frito-Lay company.

Richard Montanez was a janitor at Frito-Lay. He made his own special topping for the company's Cheetos. After sharing the topping with others, family and friends urged him to share his topping with the company. He was given the opportunity to do a demonstration with the Cheetos and his special mixture. The company fell in love with the topping mixed with their famous Cheetos and started producing the product, promoting Montanez.