Companies Lifeway Foods
Lifeway Foods (LWAY): executive pay, fiscal 2025
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CEO pay, last three years
- $5,372,124FY2024
- $3,389,132FY2025
CEO total pay was $3,389,132 in fiscal 2025, down from $5,372,124 in fiscal 2024.
FY2025: salary $1,000,000 · bonus $0 · stock awards $750,000 · option awards $0
Full detail
Every table from the filing. Open any section.
Summary compensation table
| Named executive officer | Salary | Bonus | Stock awards | Option awards | Non-equity incentive | Pension / NQDC | All other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Julie Smolyansky | $1,000,000 | $0 | $750,000 | $0 | $1,600,000 | $0 | $39,132 | $3,389,132 |
| Chief Executive Officer, President and Secretary | ||||||||
| Eric Hanson | 410,000 | 0 | 164,000 | 0 | 287,000 | 0 | 87,462 | 948,462 |
| Chief Financial and Accounting Officer, Treasurer | ||||||||
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 officer | FY2025 total | FY2024 total | FY2023 total | Δ FY2024→2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Julie Smolyansky | $3,389,132 | $5,372,124 | — | ↓ −1,982,992 |
| Eric Hanson | 948,462 | 846,000 | — | ↑ +102,462 |
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
The executive compensation program aims to balance compensation elements to attract and motivate talented executives with performance-based forms aligned with shareholder interests, setting target total direct compensation by reference to peer group companies, and adjusting compensation to reflect individual and corporate financial performance.
| CEO STI target (% of salary) | — |
|---|---|
| CEO LTI target (% of salary) | — |
| Independent consultant | Aon |
| Clawback policy | true |
| Anti-hedging | true |
| Anti-pledging | true |
Equity grants and outstanding awards
No plan-based awards are on file for this fiscal year.
Outstanding equity awards at fiscal year-end 2025
| Executive | Award | Shares unvested | Exercise price | Market value unvested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eric Hanson | RSU | 7,142 | — | $173,051 |
| Julie Smolyansky | RSU | 34,440 | — | 834,481 |
| Eric Hanson | PSU | 39,442 | — | 995,680 |
| Julie Smolyansky | PSU | 193,624 | — | 4,691,510 |
Director compensation
| Director | Cash fees | Stock awards | Option awards | Non-equity incentive | All other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jason ScherIndependent · ACG (Chair) · Compensation (Chair) · Not standing for re-election | $98,500 | $60,000 | — | — | $0 | $158,500 |
| Dorri McWhorterIndependent · Board Chair · ACG · Compensation | 75,443 | 60,000 | — | — | 0 | 135,443 |
| Juan Carlos (JC) DaltoIndependent | 52,500 | 60,000 | — | — | 0 | 112,500 |
| Perfecto SanchezIndependent · ACG · Departed during FY | 70,489 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 70,489 |
| Andee HarrisIndependent · ACG · Newly elected | 10,000 | 60,000 | — | — | 0 | 70,000 |
| Rachel DroriIndependent · Newly elected | 7,826 | 60,000 | — | — | 0 | 67,826 |
| Susie HultquistIndependent · Compensation · Newly elected | 4,488 | 60,000 | — | — | 0 | 64,488 |
| Kirk ChartierIndependent · Compensation · Newly elected | 4,488 | 60,000 | — | — | 64,488 | 64,488 |
| Pol SikarIndependent · ACG · Departed during FY | 62,615 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 62,615 |
| Jody LevyIndependent · ACG · Compensation · Departed during FY | 54,935 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 54,935 |
Board fee structure and ownership guideline
| Annual cash retainer | $45,000 |
|---|---|
| Annual equity retainer | $60,000 |
| Per board meeting fee | — |
| Committee chair fees (audit / comp / nom-gov) | 12,500 / 10,500 |
| Stock ownership guideline | $200 |
Total cost of the board
| Component | FY2025 |
|---|---|
| Cash retainers and fees | $441,284 |
| Equity awards (grant-date value) | $420,000 |
| All other compensation | $64,488 |
| Total cost of the board | $925,772 |
Computed as the sum of the director compensation table rows above; inputs and formula shown in the register.
Peer group, and who names Lifeway Foods as a peer
Companies that benchmark against LWAY
1 company names LWAY as a compensation peer
- Limoneira COLMNRFY2025
Each company listed discloses LWAY in its own benchmarking peer group, as disclosed in each company's most recent proxy statement within the last two proxy seasons. Two companies are therefore absent by design: one that named LWAY in an earlier year and no longer does, and one whose own most recent disclosure is older than the last two seasons.
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.
Peer reciprocity
Of the companies Lifeway Foods 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.
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 Lifeway Foods.
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.
| Rank | Company | FY | Chief executive | Salary | Stock awards | Option awards | Non-equity incentive | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beyond Meat, Inc. | 2025 | Ethan Brown | $587,500 | $26,701,431 | $0 | $2,500,425 | $29,846,850 |
| 2 | Coffee Holding Co., Inc. | 2025 | Mark Davis | 621,370 | 3,750,000 | 3,750,000 | 8,751,050 | 20,897,082 |
| 3 | Freshpet, Inc. | 2025 | William Cyr | 712,308 | 11,599,846 | 0 | 187,344 | 12,513,498 |
| 4 | Celsius Holdings, Inc. | 2025 | John Fieldly | 1,016,500 | 6,648,396 | 0 | 1,899,240 | 9,607,616 |
| 5 | e.l.f. Beauty, Inc. | 2026 | Tarang Amin | 475,000 | 7,399,867 | 0 | 950,000 | 8,834,367 |
| 6 | Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc. | 2025 | Ellen Gordon | 999,000 | — | — | — | 7,150,512 |
| 7 | MGP Ingredients Inc. | 2025 | Julie Francis | 398,077 | 2,300,008 | 1,655,571 | 384,164 | 4,980,533 |
| 8 | The Vita Coco Company, Inc. | 2025 | Martin Roper | 625,000 | 1,879,998 | 920,002 | 1,114,375 | 4,549,875 |
| 9 | Village Farms International, Inc. | 2025 | Michael DeGiglio | 1,078,403 | 103,935 | 0 | 0 | 3,783,169 |
| 10 | Lifeway Foods | 2025 | Julie Smolyansky | 1,000,000 | 750,000 | 0 | 1,600,000 | 3,389,132 |
| 11 | Mama’s Creations, Inc | 2026 | Adam Michaels | 450,000 | 1,460,664 | 0 | 360,000 | 2,340,664 |
| 12 | Alico, Inc. | 2025 | John Kiernan | 544,529 | 468,180 | 0 | 238,856 | 1,385,168 |
| 13 | Limoneira Co. | 2025 | Harold Edwards | 719,250 | 499,997 | 0 | 0 | 1,277,951 |
| 14 | LifeVantage Corp. | 2026 | Michael Beindorff | 141,667 | 91,334 | 0 | 0 | 233,001 |
| — | Crimson Wine Group, Ltd. | — | — | — | — | — | — | not in coverage universe |
| — | Laird Superfood, Inc. | — | — | — | — | — | — | not in coverage universe |
| — | Bridgford Foods Corp. | — | — | — | — | — | — | not in coverage universe |
| — | Natural Alternatives International, Inc. | — | — | — | — | — | — | not in coverage universe |
| — | Zevia PBC | — | — | — | — | — | — | 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
| Company | Annual incentive payout | Long-term vehicle mix | PSU measures include TSR | Compensation consultant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lifeway Foods | not disclosed | PSU 66.67 · RSU 33.33 | not disclosed | Aon |
| Alico, Inc. | not disclosed | not disclosed | No | Semler Brossy Consulting Group, LLC |
| Beyond Meat, Inc. | not disclosed | RSU 55 · PSU 45 | not disclosed | WTW |
| Bridgford Foods Corp. | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed |
| Celsius Holdings, Inc. | not disclosed | PSU 50 · RSU 50 | not disclosed | Farient Advisors |
| Coffee Holding Co., Inc. | 125.175% of target for CEO ($751,050 actual vs $600,000 target); 125.175% of target for CFO ($281,644 actual vs $225,000 target); 125.175% of target for CLO ($187,763 actual vs $150,000 target)% | RSUs 50 · Stock Options 50 | not disclosed | Meridian Compensation Partners, LLC |
| Crimson Wine Group, Ltd. | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed |
| e.l.f. Beauty, Inc. | 200% | PSU 50 · RSU 50 | No | Aon (Aon's Human Capital Solutions practice, a division of Aon plc.) |
| Freshpet, Inc. | not disclosed | PSU 50 · RSU 50 | not disclosed | WTW |
| Laird Superfood, Inc. | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed |
| LifeVantage Corp. | not disclosed | PRSU 60 · RSU 40 | not disclosed | Aon Consulting, Inc. |
| Limoneira Co. | not disclosed | PSU 50 · RSU 50 | No | Pearl Meyer |
| Mama’s Creations, Inc | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed |
| MGP Ingredients Inc. | 95%% | PSUs 75 · RSUs 25 | No | FW Cook |
| Natural Alternatives International, Inc. | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed |
| The Vita Coco Company, Inc. | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed | Pearl Meyer |
| Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc. | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed | Compensation Strategies, Inc. |
| Village Farms International, Inc. | not disclosed | Restricted Shares 90 · Performance Restricted Shares 10 | not disclosed | not disclosed |
| Zevia PBC | not disclosed | not disclosed | not disclosed | not 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
No say-on-pay vote is on file for this company.
Insider trades since the proxy
No insider equity transactions reported since the proxy statement.
Sources (39 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, Julie Smolyansky. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-30. Section “NAMED EXECUTIVE OFFICER COMPENSATION”. As printed: 3,389,132. View filing ↗
- Section 01, Eric Hanson. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-30. Section “NAMED EXECUTIVE OFFICER COMPENSATION”. As printed: 948,462. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Jason Scher. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-30. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 158,500. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Dorri McWhorter. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-30. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 135,443. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Juan Carlos (JC) Dalto. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-30. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 112,500. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Perfecto Sanchez. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-30. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 70,489. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Andee Harris. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-30. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 70,000. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Rachel Drori. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-30. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 67,826. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Susie Hultquist. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-30. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 64,488. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Kirk Chartier. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-30. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 64,488. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Pol Sikar. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-30. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 62,615. View filing ↗
- Section 08, Jody Levy. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-30. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 54,935. 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 441,284 + equity 420,000 + all other 64,488 = 925,772, summed across the director compensation table rows.
- Beyond Meat, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. CEO total compensation as printed in Beyond Meat, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 29,846,850. View filing ↗
- Coffee Holding Co., Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-16. CEO total compensation as printed in Coffee Holding Co., Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 20,897,082. View filing ↗
- Freshpet, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-27. CEO total compensation as printed in Freshpet, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 12,513,498. View filing ↗
- Celsius Holdings, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-14. CEO total compensation as printed in Celsius Holdings, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 9,607,616. View filing ↗
- e.l.f. Beauty, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-07-08. CEO total compensation as printed in e.l.f. Beauty, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 8,834,367. View filing ↗
- Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-27. CEO total compensation as printed in Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 7,150,512. View filing ↗
- MGP Ingredients Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-09. CEO total compensation as printed in MGP Ingredients Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 4,980,533. View filing ↗
- The Vita Coco Company, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-22. CEO total compensation as printed in The Vita Coco Company, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 4,549,875. View filing ↗
- Village Farms International, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-29. CEO total compensation as printed in Village Farms International, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 3,783,169. View filing ↗
- Lifeway Foods (subject), Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-30. CEO total compensation as printed in Lifeway Foods's own proxy. As printed: 3,389,132. View filing ↗
- Mama’s Creations, Inc, Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-05-18. CEO total compensation as printed in Mama’s Creations, Inc's own proxy. As printed: 2,340,664. View filing ↗
- Alico, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-01-14. CEO total compensation as printed in Alico, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 1,385,168. View filing ↗
- Limoneira Co., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-02-18. CEO total compensation as printed in Limoneira Co.'s own proxy. As printed: 1,277,951. View filing ↗
- LifeVantage Corp., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-09-18. CEO total compensation as printed in LifeVantage Corp.'s own proxy. As printed: 233,001. View filing ↗
- Section 10a, Beyond Meat, Inc. reciprocity. DEF 14A. Beyond Meat, Inc. names Lifeway Foods in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). View filing ↗
- Section 10a, Mama’s Creations, Inc reciprocity. DEF 14A. Mama’s Creations, Inc's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Lifeway Foods. View filing ↗
- Section 10a, Alico, Inc. reciprocity. DEF 14A. Alico, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Lifeway Foods. View filing ↗
- Section 10a, Celsius Holdings, Inc. reciprocity. DEF 14A. Celsius Holdings, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Lifeway Foods. View filing ↗
- Section 10a, e.l.f. Beauty, Inc. reciprocity. DEF 14A. e.l.f. Beauty, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Lifeway Foods. View filing ↗
- Section 10a, Freshpet, Inc. reciprocity. DEF 14A. Freshpet, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Lifeway Foods. View filing ↗
- Section 10a, LifeVantage Corp. reciprocity. DEF 14A. LifeVantage Corp.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Lifeway Foods. View filing ↗
- Section 10a, Limoneira Co. reciprocity. DEF 14A. Limoneira Co. names Lifeway Foods in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). View filing ↗
- Section 10a, MGP Ingredients Inc. reciprocity. DEF 14A. MGP Ingredients Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Lifeway Foods. View filing ↗
- Section 10a, Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc. reciprocity. DEF 14A. Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Lifeway Foods. View filing ↗
- Section 10a, The Vita Coco Company, Inc. reciprocity. DEF 14A. The Vita Coco Company, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Lifeway Foods. View filing ↗