Father, 41, behind billion dollar Doritos Locos dies of brain cancer... having never made a CENT from his idea and after Taco Bell donated just $1,000 towards his medical bills

Todd Mills, 41, hit upon the genius idea while watching television in 2009

Approached Doritos and Taco Bell and was re-buffed



Began a Facebook campaign called 'Taco Shells from Doritos Movement' in 2010 to promote the snack



But in 2012 was told it had been already been invented but was invited to be one of the first to try the hybrid taco



The Doritos Locos Tacos brand has sold over 600 million units and turned around Taco Bell's fortunes to the tune of $1 billion in sales

The man popularly known as the fast-food visionary who inspired Taco Bell's billion-dollar Doritos Locos Tacos has died of cancer - after never making one cent from them.

Todd Mills, 41, who had a brainwave for the idea while watching TV in 2009 passed away on Thanksgiving, surrounded by his wife and two daughters, Tyler, 19, and Lainey,6, after Taco Bell donated just $1,000 towards his medical bills.



Vice president of media and information at the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce, Mills lobbied Taco Bell and the owners of Doritos for two years using a much loved and humorous Facebook campaign that had millions of followers and in March 2012 finally saw his hybrid snack become a reality.

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Moment of truth: Todd Mills was invited to Taco Bell's California headquarters to be one of the first to taste the Doritos Locos Tacos - which he conceived of in 2009 while watching television

It was in August that Mills was struck down by cancer and he was forced to stop work and endured two brain surgeries and lung surgery.



His friends and family set up a website to accept donations to help with his medical bills and on September 24th, Taco Bell donated $1,000 to the fund after a friend reached out to the company via Twitter according to USA Today.

The fund for Mills was seeking to raise $10,000 and with Taco Bell's donation exceeded this to make $11,525 for the father-of two.



The same friends told USA Today that Mills was a proud man 'with a good idea and a good heart' and that he would never have set up such a site himself.

Indeed, his friends often urged him to seek some form of compensation for the taco, especially as he became one of its chief supporters through social media.



Modest to the end though, Mills told the Arkansas Times last year that he was not looking for money, the fact that the meal exists was enough.

'Everybody that I tell about this says 'You should be getting some money off these.'



'I've never once said that I deserved any sort of compensation,' he said. 'I can't be the first person to think of this.'

The MailOnline approached Taco Bell for comment about their donation to Todd Mills' medical bills, but at the time of publication had not received a response.



Proud dad: Todd with his daughter, Lainey seen here on his You Caring fundraising website

Confirmation of donation: This grab taken from Todd Mills' You Caring medical fundraising website shows that Taco Bell put up $1,000 towards the 41-year-olds treatment - of which $11,250 was collected in total





Since the launch the Doritos Locos Tacos, the range has been expanded to three different flavors and sales last year exceeded $1 billion.

Indeed, more than 600 million units have been sold to date and Taco Bell, which is owned by Yum!Brands, which also owns KFC and Pizza Hut, considers the item to be its most successful launch ever.

However, Mills never received a penny, despite the acknowledgement from both Doritos owner, Frito-Lay and Taco Bell for his part in popularizing the game-changing fast-food snack.



For his part, Mills always shrugged of any attention his bright spark brought him, simply happy to have had his 'cool idea' come true.

The story of how one man helped to change the face of America's fast-food habits began more than three years ago - his wife Ginger said that her husband would often use Doritos in taco salads.



Then in 2009, Mills was eating a normal taco while watching the television and as he described it a 'lightbulb went off'.



'I looked at my wife and said, 'How awesome would it be if this taco shell was a Dorito?' recounted Mills in an interview last year with the Arkansas Times.



The idea would not budge and in late 2010 the successful businessman decided to write a letter to Frito-Lay to pitch it, but he soon got back a reply that basically said, 'Thanks, but no thanks'.

'Imagine this…taco shells made from Doritos,' he wrote to Frito-Lay. 'I know…It’s an amazing thing to ponder.'

The chip-giant told Mills that they only accepted product ideas from employees.



Undeterred by this, Mills took to Facebook to drum up the help of social media to make his dream to have orange Dorito's tacos become a reality.

Grief: Widow Ginger told MailOnline: 'Obviously it's going to be tough for us. I think it's sweet that all of his friends are doing this for him'. She added that she thinks Todd would be embarrassed by the campaign

His page was entitled 'Taco Shells Made from Doritos Movement' onto which he posted updates of his campaign and celebrities holding the as-yet unreal fast-food snack.



Eventually, the page racked up over 3,000 likes. The online food blogs of the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Time had linked to the page. The page views soon spiked over a million.

With his social media campaign and public swell of support, it is unclear how much influence Mills actually had on the decision to go ahead with the snack.

One day, Todd noticed Taco Bell had commented on one of his images.



'He was really excited,' Ginger said to Today. 'Taco Bell was paying attention to him. Of course, we called everyone we knew.'



Then, out of the blue in February 2012, Mills received a phone call from Taco Bell, to invite him to their California headquarters where they were going to show him something special.

One of his final posts: This humorous post was one of the final updates that Mills made to his 'Taco Shells from Doritos Movement' and refers to President George W. Bush giving his 'Mission Accomplished' speech about Iraq in 2003

Forest Gump would have approved: Mills used many different memes and celebrities to bolster his campaign to have the snack adopted by Taco Bell and Doritos

When he arrived he was shown and tasted his dream come to life - what became known as the Doritos Locos Tacos.



Officials at Taco Bell told him that they had been approached by Frito Lay in 2010 with a proposal to combine their two brands.



And Mills realized that he had written his letter six-months after Frito Lay had come to Taco Bell - removing any possibility of his idea having been appropriated.



Reacting to his death, Taco Bell released a statement to say that Mills was a 'true friend of the Taco Bell family' and fondly remembered his 2012 visit as one of the first to try their greatest creation.

One day: Mills helped to revolutionize the fast food landscape with his backing of the Doritos Locos Tacos

The snack and the campaign: The Doritos Locos Tacos has sold more than 600 million units nationwide and was helped by Todd' social media campaign that utilized people such as President Barack Obama



'We are honored to have had his support through the Doritos for Taco Shells Movement on Facebook, and we admire his strength and optimism during his recent battle. Our thoughts and sympathies are with Todd's family during this time,' the company said in the statement.



One of Mill's last Facebook posts, commemorated the launch of his dream with a nachos-flavored taco shell on the bridge of an aircraft carrier with a banner reading, 'Mission Accomplished' behind it - in reference to President George W. Bush's less successful attempt in 2003 to claim he had completed his task in Iraq.

