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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

Grants of plan-based awards — fiscal year 2025

ExecutiveAwardGrant dateThresholdTargetGrantedMaximumGrant-date fair value
Joanne BalPSU2025-03-033,9627,923—15,848$249,971
Joanne BalRSU2025-03-03——7,924—250,002
Peter PappasRSU2025-03-03——10,301—324,997
Thilo WredeRSU2025-03-03——14,659—462,491
Russell Diez-CansecoRSU2025-03-03——34,073—1,075,003
Joseph HollandRSU2025-03-03——7,924—250,002
Russell Diez-CansecoPSU2025-03-0317,03634,072—68,1441,074,972
Joseph HollandPSU2025-03-033,9627,923—15,848249,971
Thilo WredePSU2025-03-037,33014,659—29,318462,491
Peter PappasPSU2025-03-035,15110,301—20,602324,997

Vehicle mix — grant-date fair value by award type

Named executive officerTime-vested (RSU)Performance-vested (PSU)Options / SARs% performance-vested
Joanne Bal$250,002$249,971$050.0%
Peter Pappas324,997324,997050.0%
Thilo Wrede462,491462,491050.0%
Russell Diez-Canseco1,075,0031,074,972050.0%
Joseph Holland250,002249,971050.0%

% performance-vested = PSU grant-date fair value ÷ (RSU + PSU + Options), a computed value with the derivation shown in the register.

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

Each company listed discloses VITL 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 VITL 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 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.

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
1Beyond Meat, Inc.2025Ethan Brown$587,500$26,701,431$0$2,500,425$29,846,850
2Freshpet, Inc.2025William Cyr712,30811,599,8460187,34412,513,498
3Celsius Holdings, Inc.2025John Fieldly1,016,5006,648,39601,899,2409,607,616
4e.l.f. Beauty, Inc.2026Tarang Amin475,0007,399,8670950,0008,834,367
5Dutch Bros Inc.2025Christine Barone850,0003,931,22501,870,0006,668,231
6MGP Ingredients, Inc.2025Julie Francis398,0772,300,0081,655,571384,1644,980,533
7The Vita Coco Company, Inc.2025Martin Roper625,0001,879,998920,0021,114,3754,549,875
8The Simply Good Foods Company2025Geoff Tanner816,6672,747,758—748,0004,330,633
9Nature’s Sunshine Products, Inc.2025Ken Romanzi107,8853,600,5620147,8363,863,880
10Vital Farms2025Russell Diez-Canseco749,8082,149,975—697,5003,616,512
11Misson Produce, Inc.2025Stephen Barnard825,8501,157,89101,010,8803,050,746
12Limoneira Company2025Harold Edwards719,250499,997001,277,951
13PetMed Express, Inc.2026Leslie Campbell815,845000830,219
—The Duckhorn Portfolio, Inc.——————not in coverage universe
—SunOpta 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 disclosedFW Cook
Beyond Meat, Inc.not disclosedRSU 55 · PSU 45not disclosedWTW
Celsius Holdings, Inc.not disclosedPSU 50 · RSU 50not disclosedFarient Advisors
Dutch Bros Inc.not disclosedRSU 50 · PSU 50not disclosedSemler Brossy
e.l.f. Beauty, Inc.200%PSU 50 · RSU 50NoAon (Aon's Human Capital Solutions practice, a division of Aon plc.)
Freshpet, Inc.not disclosedPSU 50 · RSU 50not disclosedWTW
Limoneira Companynot disclosedPSU 50 · RSU 50NoPearl Meyer
MGP Ingredients, Inc.95%%PSUs 75 · RSUs 25NoFW Cook
Misson Produce, Inc.not disclosedPSU 50 · RSU 50not disclosedPearl Meyer
Nature’s Sunshine Products, Inc.not disclosednot disclosednot disclosedFredric W. Cook & Co., Inc. (F.W. Cook)
PetMed Express, Inc.not disclosednot disclosednot disclosedMeridian Compensation Partners, LLC
SunOpta Inc.not disclosednot disclosednot disclosednot disclosed
The Duckhorn Portfolio, Inc.not disclosednot disclosednot disclosednot disclosed
The Simply Good Foods Companynot disclosednot disclosednot disclosedMercer
The Vita Coco Company, Inc.not disclosednot disclosednot disclosedPearl Meyer

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

No insider equity transactions reported since the proxy statement.

Sources (54 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 03, Joanne Bal PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-27. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Joanne Bal RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-27. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Peter Pappas RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-27. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Thilo Wrede RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-27. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Russell Diez-Canseco RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-27. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Joseph Holland RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-27. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Russell Diez-Canseco PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-27. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Joseph Holland PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-27. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Thilo Wrede PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-27. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Peter Pappas PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-27. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. 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 03b vehicle mix (computed). Computed. RSU / PSU / Options grant-date fair values summed per officer from the grants table; % performance-vested = PSU ÷ (RSU+PSU+Options).
  • 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.
  • 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 ↗
  • 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 ↗
  • Dutch Bros Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-31. CEO total compensation as printed in Dutch Bros Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 6,668,231. 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 ↗
  • The Simply Good Foods Company, Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2025-12-17. CEO total compensation as printed in The Simply Good Foods Company's own proxy. As printed: 4,330,633. View filing ↗
  • Nature’s Sunshine Products, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-27. CEO total compensation as printed in Nature’s Sunshine Products, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 3,863,880. View filing ↗
  • 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 ↗
  • Misson Produce, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-02-24. CEO total compensation as printed in Misson Produce, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 3,050,746. View filing ↗
  • Limoneira Company, Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-02-18. CEO total compensation as printed in Limoneira Company's own proxy. As printed: 1,277,951. View filing ↗
  • PetMed Express, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-06-25. CEO total compensation as printed in PetMed Express, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 830,219. View filing ↗
  • Section 10a, The Vita Coco Company, Inc. reciprocity. DEF 14A. The Vita Coco Company, Inc. names Vital Farms in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). View filing ↗
  • Section 10a, The Simply Good Foods Company reciprocity. DEF 14A. The Simply Good Foods Company's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Vital Farms. View filing ↗
  • Section 10a, Misson Produce, Inc. reciprocity. DEF 14A. Misson Produce, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Vital Farms. 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 Vital Farms. View filing ↗
  • Section 10a, Freshpet, Inc. reciprocity. DEF 14A. Freshpet, Inc. names Vital Farms in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). 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 Vital Farms. View filing ↗
  • Section 10a, Beyond Meat, Inc. reciprocity. DEF 14A. Beyond Meat, Inc. names Vital Farms in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). View filing ↗
  • Section 10a, PetMed Express, Inc. reciprocity. DEF 14A. PetMed Express, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Vital Farms. View filing ↗
  • Section 10a, Limoneira Company reciprocity. DEF 14A. Limoneira Company names Vital Farms in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). View filing ↗
  • Section 10a, Nature’s Sunshine Products, Inc. reciprocity. DEF 14A. Nature’s Sunshine Products, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Vital Farms. 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 Vital Farms. View filing ↗
  • Section 10a, Dutch Bros Inc. reciprocity. DEF 14A. Dutch Bros Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Vital Farms. View filing ↗
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