From Our Print Edition

Vital Farms’ $119.2 million in first-quarter net revenue in its first quarter (ended March 26) was the highest quarterly result in its history, up by 54.7% from the prior year period. The gain was driven by 26% volume growth as gross margin expanded to almost 36%. Russell Diez-Canseco, president/CEO said avian influenza and price inflation had a significant effect, as the overall egg category saw 65% retail dollar growth in the quarter, mostly because of price inflation of conventional eggs. Retail volume in the category saw a 6% decline versus a 12% gain by Vital Farms. He expects a return to a more typical supply balance in the rest of the market. Thilo Wrede, the CFO, said 26% of Vital Farms’ volume growth in the first quarter came from new distribution, new SKUs on the shelf with existing customers and increased velocity with those customers. For a variety of reasons, he and Diez-Canseco believe the rest of the year may not see such rapid growth, as egg shortages decline, pricing comes down and the economy remains volatile.