It's been crazy hot outside lately. One might even say it's been "flamin' hot," which brings me to something I've been noticing recently. What's the deal with "Flamin' Hot" versions of seemingly every product?

Flamin' Hot is one of those things that I've always been marginally aware of, but didn't really pay that much attention to. That was the case until I noticed within the last year the Flamin' Hot title spreading across the grocery store like so much kudzu, leaving the chip aisle and invading portions of the store I never expected to see it in. 

My original association with the brand is the extremely popular Flamin' Hot Cheetos. Flamin' Hot then branched out to be offered in other PepsiCo products including Frito Lay offerings such as Flamin’ Hot Funyuns, Flamin’ Hot Fritos and Flamin’ Hot Doritos. Now there is Flamin' Hot beef jerky, Flamin' Hot ice cream, Flamin' Hot Mt Dew, Cheetos Flamin' Hot sushi, Flamin' Hot socks, and even Flamin' Hot lip balm. 

Flamin' Hot has even crossed over with restaurants. There have been Cheetos Flamin' Hot wings at Applebee's, Flamin' Hot Mac n' Cheetos at Burger King, the Cheetos Flamin' Hot chicken sandwich at KFC, the Flamin' Hot menu at Taco Bell, and possibly even more I'm not aware of.

The Flamin' Hot brand even has its own packaging with a black backdrop to, as a very corporate-sounding press release from PepsiCo  explains, "play into the edgy attitudes that brand fans demonstrate on a daily basis, and to stand out in the snack aisle where black packaging is lacking."

PepsiCo reports over $3 billion in sales from its Flamin' Hot brand, demonstrating Americans like a little touch of pain with their snack foods. A study by food ingredient company Kalsec revealed nearly 75% of Americans prefer food with a little heat. 

Flamin' Hot was born at Frito-Lay in Plano, Texas in 1989. Its origin story was even recently made into a Disney + movie titled, cleverly enough, "Flamin' Hot." The film tells the story of Frito Lay janitor Richard Montañez who claims to have invented Flamin' Hot Cheetos and went on to become an executive with the company. Frito-Lay acknowledges Montañez had a role in the development of the seasoning, but contradicts many of the details of the movie. 

Nonetheless, Flamin' Hot Fever is upon us, with no signs of slowing down. There seems to be no limit to what can be made Flamin' Hot. What's next - Flamin' Hot donuts? Flamin' Hot milk? What a wonderful world we live in.

And for those curious folks  wondering exactly how many times I can write "Flamin' Hot" in one column, it's 30. 

Standard Managing Editor Seth Wright can be reached at editor@southernstandard.com