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Companies Vital Farms

Vital Farms (VITL): executive pay, fiscal 2025

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CEO total pay$3,616,512CEO Russell Diez-Canseco · source
Say-on-pay support91.85%Latest vote · source
CEO vs. named peers18th pct.Of 14 peer CEOs
CEO pay ratio44:1To the median employee · source

CEO pay, last three years

  • $3,155,173FY2023
  • $5,999,349FY2024
  • $3,616,512FY2025

CEO total pay was $3,616,512 in fiscal 2025, down from $5,999,349 in fiscal 2024.

FY2025: salary $749,808 · stock awards $2,149,975

Executives and directors

Frequently asked questions

Who was the highest-paid executive at Vital Farms in fiscal 2025?
As disclosed, Russell Diez-Canseco (President, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Chairperson) was the highest-paid executive at Vital Farms in fiscal 2025, with total compensation of $3,616,512.
How does Vital Farms's chief executive pay compare to its disclosed peer group?
As disclosed, Russell Diez-Canseco's total compensation ranked at the 18th percentile of Vital Farms's disclosed peer group.
What is Vital Farms's CEO-to-median employee pay ratio?
As disclosed, Vital Farms's CEO-to-median employee pay ratio was 44:1.
How did shareholders vote on Vital Farms's executive compensation?
As disclosed, 91.85% of shareholders supported Vital Farms's executive compensation in the latest say-on-pay vote.
How much does Vital Farms spend in total on board compensation for fiscal 2025?
As disclosed, Vital Farms reported total board compensation of $1,289,880 for fiscal 2025.

Answers are drawn only from the figures disclosed in this brief and cited to their location in the source filing. Where a figure required for an answer is not disclosed, that is stated rather than estimated.

Full detail

Every table from the filing. Open any section.

Summary compensation table
Named executive officerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension / NQDCAll otherTotal
Russell Diez-Canseco$749,808—$2,149,975—$697,500$0$19,230$3,616,512
President, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Chairperson
Thilo Wrede454,808—924,983—253,890013,7101,647,391
Chief Financial Officer
Peter Pappas429,769—649,993—239,940021,5101,341,212
Chief Sales Officer and President, Eggs
Joanne Bal415,877—499,973—232,128011,7101,159,688
Chief Legal Officer, Corporate Secretary & Head of Impact
Joseph Holland415,877—499,973—232,128010,5801,158,558
Chief Supply Chain Officer

A dash means the company reported no figure in that column; 0 means it reported zero. Figures are as printed in the filing, without adjustment.

Three-year trend — total compensation per named executive

Named executive officerFY2025 totalFY2024 totalFY2023 totalΔ FY2024→2025
Russell Diez-Canseco$3,616,512$5,999,349$3,155,173↓ −2,382,837
Thilo Wrede1,647,3911,786,758—↓ −139,367
Peter Pappas1,341,212———
Joanne Bal1,159,6881,644,152—↓ −484,464
Joseph Holland1,158,558———

Prior-year totals as disclosed in the corresponding proxy; deltas are computed values with the derivation shown in the register.

Incentive-plan design — the Compensation Discussion & Analysis

We have designed our compensation program based on the following guiding principles: Pay for Performance, Talent Attraction and Retention, Balance Short-Term and Long-Term Interests, and Alignment with Purpose and Mission.

CEO STI target (% of salary)—
CEO LTI target (% of salary)—
Independent consultantFW Cook
Clawback policytrue
Anti-hedgingtrue
Anti-pledgingtrue
Equity grants and outstanding awards

No plan-based awards are on file for this fiscal year.

Outstanding equity awards at fiscal year-end 2025

ExecutiveAwardShares unvestedExercise priceMarket value unvested
Peter PappasRSU663—$21,037
Peter PappasOption1,74412.58—
Joseph HollandRSU2,626—83,323
Peter PappasRSU3,810—120,891
Joseph HollandPSU3,939—124,984
Peter PappasOption4,19015.31—
Joanne BalRSU4,354—138,152
Joanne BalPSU7,923—251,397
Joanne BalRSU7,924—251,429
Joseph HollandRSU7,924—251,429
Joseph HollandPSU7,924—251,429
Thilo WredeRSU10,184—323,138
Peter PappasRSU10,301—326,851
Peter PappasPSU10,301—326,851
Peter PappasRSU11,513—365,307
Russell Diez-CansecoRSU12,192—386,852
Joanne BalOption12,25215.31—
Joanne BalRSU13,022—413,188
Thilo WredeRSU14,292—453,485
Thilo WredeRSU14,659—465,130
Thilo WredePSU14,659—465,130
Peter PappasPSU17,270—547,977
Joanne BalPSU19,533—619,782
Thilo WredePSU21,438—680,228
Thilo WredeOption29,06813.91—
Russell Diez-CansecoPSU34,073—1,081,136
Russell Diez-CansecoOption44,93015.31—
Russell Diez-CansecoRSU63,522—2,015,553
Russell Diez-CansecoPSU95,283—3,023,330
Director compensation
DirectorCash feesStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentiveAll otherTotal
Karl KhouryIndependent · Compensation · Nominating and Corporate Governance$87,500$109,981———$197,481
Kelly J. KennedyIndependent · AUDIT COMMITTEE (Chair)87,500109,981———197,481
Gisel RuizIndependent · COMPENSATION COMMITTEE (Chair)80,000109,981———189,981
Denny Marie PostIndependent · Audit80,000109,981———189,981
Kofi Amoo-GottfriedIndependent · NOMINATING AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE (Chair)70,000109,981———179,981
Glenda FlanaganIndependent · Audit70,000109,981———179,981
William CyrIndependent · Audit35,000119,994———154,994
Russell Diez-CansecoEmployee director · Board Chair—————0

Board fee structure and ownership guideline

Annual cash retainer$60,000
Annual equity retainer$110,000
Per board meeting fee—
Committee chair fees (audit / comp / nom-gov)20,000 / 15,000 / 10,000
Stock ownership guidelineoverseeing compliance with our Stock Ownership Guidelines (as applicable to non-employee directors) and Pledging Policy;

Total cost of the board

ComponentFY2025
Cash retainers and fees$510,000
Equity awards (grant-date value)$779,880
All other compensation$0
Total cost of the board$1,289,880

Computed as the sum of the director compensation table rows above; inputs and formula shown in the register.

Peer group, and who names Vital Farms as a peer

Companies that benchmark against VITL

6 companies name VITL as a compensation peer

The list of companies that name VITL as a peer is temporarily unavailable — recheck shortly.

Disclosed peer group — fiscal year 2025

The compensation peer group as the company disclosed it in its own proxy — the reference set behind the percentile above.

COCO The Vita Coco Company, Inc.NAPA The Duckhorn Portfolio, Inc.SMPL The Simply Good Foods CompanySTKL SunOpta Inc.AVO Misson Produce, Inc.ELF e.l.f. Beauty, Inc.FRPT Freshpet, Inc.CELH Celsius Holdings, Inc.BYND Beyond Meat, Inc.PETS PetMed Express, Inc.LMNR Limoneira CompanyNATR Nature’s Sunshine Products, Inc.MGPI MGP Ingredients, Inc.BROS Dutch Bros Inc.

Peer reciprocity

Of the companies Vital Farms names as compensation peers, which name it back in their own disclosed peer groups. A peer set the market reciprocates reads differently from one selected in a single direction.

The Vita Coco Company, Inc. (COCO) The Duckhorn Portfolio, Inc. (NAPA) The Simply Good Foods Company (SMPL) SunOpta Inc. (STKL) Misson Produce, Inc. (AVO) e.l.f. Beauty, Inc. (ELF) Freshpet, Inc. (FRPT) Celsius Holdings, Inc. (CELH) Beyond Meat, Inc. (BYND) PetMed Express, Inc. (PETS) Limoneira Company (LMNR) Nature’s Sunshine Products, Inc. (NATR) MGP Ingredients, Inc. (MGPI) Dutch Bros Inc. (BROS)

Reciprocity shown where the peer’s own current proxy has been read — each mark is cited in the register to that peer’s filing. A dash means the peer’s current proxy was read and names no reciprocal group including Vital Farms.

Chief executive pay against the peer group

Most recent fiscal-year chief executive compensation at each disclosed peer, taken from that company’s own proxy statement.

RankCompanyFYChief executiveSalaryStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentiveTotal
1Vital Farms2025Russell Diez-Canseco$749,808$2,149,975—$697,500$3,616,512
—The Vita Coco Company, Inc.——————not in coverage universe
—The Duckhorn Portfolio, Inc.——————not in coverage universe
—The Simply Good Foods Company——————not in coverage universe
—SunOpta Inc.——————not in coverage universe
—Misson Produce, Inc.——————not in coverage universe
—e.l.f. Beauty, Inc.——————not in coverage universe
—Freshpet, Inc.——————not in coverage universe
—Celsius Holdings, Inc.——————not in coverage universe
—Beyond Meat, Inc.——————not in coverage universe
—PetMed Express, Inc.——————not in coverage universe
—Limoneira Company——————not in coverage universe
—Nature’s Sunshine Products, Inc.——————not in coverage universe
—MGP Ingredients, Inc.——————not in coverage universe
—Dutch Bros Inc.——————not in coverage universe

Each peer’s compensation is from its most recently filed proxy; fiscal years differ by company. Each peer’s figures come from its own filings; the subject company is highlighted. Peers whose chief executive compensation is outside our coverage universe are stated as such, never left blank.

Incentive design against the same peers

CompanyAnnual incentive payoutLong-term vehicle mixPSU measures include TSRCompensation consultant
Vital Farmsnot disclosednot disclosednot disclosednot disclosed
Beyond Meat, Inc.not disclosednot disclosednot disclosednot disclosed
Celsius Holdings, Inc.not disclosednot disclosednot disclosednot disclosed
Dutch Bros Inc.not disclosednot disclosednot disclosednot disclosed
e.l.f. Beauty, Inc.not disclosednot disclosednot disclosednot disclosed
Freshpet, Inc.not disclosednot disclosednot disclosednot disclosed
Limoneira Companynot disclosednot disclosednot disclosednot disclosed
MGP Ingredients, Inc.not disclosednot disclosednot disclosednot disclosed
Misson Produce, Inc.not disclosednot disclosednot disclosednot disclosed
Nature’s Sunshine Products, Inc.not disclosednot disclosednot disclosednot disclosed
PetMed Express, Inc.not disclosednot disclosednot disclosednot disclosed
SunOpta Inc.not disclosednot disclosednot disclosednot disclosed
The Duckhorn Portfolio, Inc.not disclosednot disclosednot disclosednot disclosed
The Simply Good Foods Companynot disclosednot disclosednot disclosednot disclosed
The Vita Coco Company, Inc.not disclosednot disclosednot disclosednot disclosed

Read from each company’s Compensation Discussion and Analysis: annual incentive payout as a percentage of target, the disclosed long-term vehicle mix, whether performance-share measures include a total shareholder return component, and the retained compensation consultant. “Not disclosed” appears only where the company’s filing does not state the item.

Say-on-pay history and pay ratio
Meeting yearMeeting dateForAgainstAbstainSupportOutcome
20262026-06-1025,303,7582,246,660298,21891.85%Passed
20252025-06-1134,318,4702,248,282297,30293.85%Passed

Rows are labeled by annual-meeting year, with the meeting date beside each; the vote held in a given year acts on the prior fiscal year’s compensation.

Say-on-pay — history, company’s computation

Meeting yearMeeting dateApproval — company’s computation
20262026-06-1091.85%a
20252025-06-1193.85%b

a. Voting standard not stated in the filing.

b. Voting standard not stated in the filing.

Approval percentages are the company’s own reported computations under its own stated standard, not recomputed by Velarion. Where a company does not state a standard, none is assumed.

CEO pay ratio

Ratio (CEO : median employee)44 : 1
CEO total compensation$3,616,512
Median employee compensation$81,259
Insider trades since the proxy

Equity transactions since the proxy statement are temporarily unavailable — recheck shortly.

Sources (19 citations)

Each figure is listed with the filing it comes from, where it appears in that filing, and the value as printed. Any figure can be independently confirmed against the source.

  • Section 01, Russell Diez-Canseco. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-27. Section “Executive Compensation” · page 59. As printed: 3,616,512. View filing ↗
  • Section 01, Thilo Wrede. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-27. Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 1,647,391. View filing ↗
  • Section 01, Peter Pappas. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-27. Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 1,341,212. View filing ↗
  • Section 01, Joanne Bal. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-27. Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 1,159,688. View filing ↗
  • Section 01, Joseph Holland. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-27. Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 1,158,558. View filing ↗
  • Section 07, pay ratio. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-27. Section “CEO Pay Ratio”. As printed: 44 : 1. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Karl Khoury. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-27. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 197,481. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Kelly J. Kennedy. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-27. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 197,481. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Gisel Ruiz. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-27. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 189,981. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Denny Marie Post. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-27. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 189,981. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Kofi Amoo-Gottfried. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-27. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 179,981. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Glenda Flanagan. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-27. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 179,981. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, William Cyr. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-27. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 154,994. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Russell Diez-Canseco. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-27. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. View filing ↗
  • Section 06, 2026 vote. Form 8-K, filed 2026-06-16. Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 91.85% (votes for as printed: 25,303,758). View filing ↗
  • Section 06, 2025 vote. Form 8-K, filed 2025-06-17. Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 93.85% (votes for as printed: 34,318,470). View filing ↗
  • Section 01 trend, Δ column (computed). Computed. Δ = current-FY total − prior-FY total per named officer.
  • Section 09b board cost (computed). Computed. Cash 510,000 + equity 779,880 + all other 0 = 1,289,880, summed across the director compensation table rows.
  • Vital Farms (subject), Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-27. CEO total compensation as printed in Vital Farms's own proxy. As printed: 3,616,512. View filing ↗
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