Vital Farms Appoints Kathryn McKeon as Chief Marketing Officer
AUSTIN, Texas — Vital Farms (Nasdaq: VITL), a Certified B Corporation that offers a range of ethically produced foods nationwide, announced the appointment of Kathryn McKeon to Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) effective January 27, 2022. McKeon has over 15 years of experience in brand marketing, with a specific focus on building global and emerging consumer food brands. As CMO, McKeon will oversee the Brand, Content, Community Management, Shopper Marketing, Consumer Insights, Communications and Creative Design marketing functions.
McKeon joined Vital Farms in 2016 as one of the first marketing leaders. In her more than five years with the company, she has served in several marketing leadership roles including most recently Vice President of Marketing. She has played an instrumental role in evolving the Vital Farms brand from an emerging name to a national leader in ethical food products trusted by millions of people across the country as well as initiatives such as Vital Farms’ Effie award-winning Bullsh*t Free campaign and its novel Traceability product feature, an industry-first transparency initiative that has received over 500,000 views to date.
“Kathryn has had a tremendous impact on our ability to attract and retain households and drive loyalty for our products,” said Russell Diez-Canseco, President and CEO, Vital Farms. “We know the strength of our brand will continue to be a critical growth driver for Vital Farms. While we conducted an extensive external search for the CMO position, it was clear through those conversations that Kathryn was the perfect choice. She’s an inspiring leader, creative, competitive, analytical, and a culture champion, all characteristics she’s demonstrated in her six years as a member of the marketing leadership team. I am confident in Kathryn and her team and look forward to all they will accomplish in the years ahead.”
“I am honored to transition to the CMO role and eager to lead the next phase of our brand in service of our purpose to improve the lives of people, animals, and the planet through food,” McKeon said. “I truly believe we have the most talented marketing professionals in the industry on our team. They have demonstrated time and time again that a creative, nimble, and opportunistic mindset, paired with a steadfast adherence to our values of honesty and transparency in food production will drive sustainable growth. I could not be more excited to work alongside them as we take our brand to new heights.”
Prior to Vital Farms, McKeon held brand marketing roles at Mondelēz International, one of the world’s largest snack companies and supported brand marketing for consumer household products including Starbucks Coffee, Stride Gum, Ritz Crackers, and Halls. She began her career in media sales for NewsCorp, a global content and information services company.
McKeon received a Bachelor of Business in Marketing from The University of Texas at Austin and an M.B.A. from the New York University Stern School of Business.
Vital Farms Expands Stephanie Coon’s Role to Senior Vice President of People and Strategy
Vital Farms also announced the expansion of Stephanie Coon’s role to Senior Vice President of People and Strategy. In this newly created role, Coon will lead Vital Farms’ People function in addition to her current team which includes Strategy, Project Management, and New Ventures.
“As we think about our long-term growth opportunities, we know our one true competitive advantage is great people,” said Russell Diez-Canseco, President and CEO, Vital Farms. “As Stephanie has settled into her role, it’s become abundantly clear that she has a passion for people and culture. By combining these functions under a single leader, we’ll be unified in attracting talent that supports our growth initiatives and a culture that keeps our crew feeling engaged and inspired. All of this is critical to our success both now and in the future.”
Coon joined Vital Farms in August 2021 to build and lead the Strategy function at Vital Farms. Over the past six months, she has aligned the company around organization-wide objectives that include the specific and measurable initiatives that will drive Vital Farms’ long-term growth.
“I am humbled and excited by the opportunity to lead our People function,” Coon said. “Vital Farms has a values-driven and people-first culture that is truly very special. Nurturing this culture is central to everything we do across the business. I look forward to working with our passionate team to build on this strong foundation as we grow.”
Coon continued, “As we continue our focus on scaling a world-class organization, this tighter link between where we are going, the processes we’ll put in place to get there, and, most importantly, how we engage, inspire, and develop our crew members is a powerful unlock for the business.”
About Vital Farms
Vital Farms, a Certified B Corporation, offers a range of ethically produced foods nationwide. Started on a single farm in Austin, Texas in 2007, Vital Farms is now a national consumer brand that works with over 250 small family farms and is the leading U.S. brand of pasture-raised eggs by retail dollar sales. Vital Farms’ ethics are exemplified by its focus on the humane treatment of farm animals and sustainable farming practices. In addition, as a Delaware Public Benefit Corporation, Vital Farms prioritizes the long-term benefits of each of its stakeholders, including farmers and suppliers, customers and consumers, communities and the environment, and crew members and stockholders. Vital Farms’ products, including shell eggs, butter, hard-boiled eggs, ghee, Egg Bites, Breakfast Bars, and liquid whole eggs, are sold in over 18,000 stores nationwide. Vital Farms pasture-raised eggs can also be found on menus at hundreds of food service operators across the country. For more information, visit www.vitalfarms.com.
