2025 Food & Beverage VP Salary in the US: Compensation Insights

A Foundational Overview: The Role of a Vice President in Food & Beverage

The modern landscape of the food and beverage industry is defined by rapid transformation. The role of a Vice President has evolved far beyond traditional operational oversight to encompass strategic leadership in a dynamic market. This executive position is now central to navigating a complex web of challenges, including supply chain disruptions, changing consumer preferences, and the increasing demand for data-driven decision-making and sustainable processes. This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the financial framework for this critical role, focusing on salary, compensation, and benefits in the United States for 2025.

It is essential to clarify that this report focuses exclusively on the private sector's corporate roles. The compensation of the Vice President of the United States, a prominent public official, is governed by a fixed, federal pay schedule not subject to the market forces and performance-based incentives of the private sector. For context, the payable salary for the Vice President of the United States has remained frozen at $235,100 per annum since 2019, a figure that is a significant data point in its own right but distinct from the private industry's compensation structure.

A Multi-Layered Look at Compensation

Average Salary & National Compensation Overview

Gaining a precise understanding of the average salary for a Vice President in the food and beverage industry is challenging due to contradictory data points across various sources. According to ZipRecruiter, the most widely cited average is $157,532 per year as of August 2025. This figure represents a broad market average, with the majority of salaries for this position ranging from $115,000 (25th percentile) to $190,000 (75th percentile). Top earners, in the 90th percentile, can reach $244,500 annually.

However, other data providers report a notably higher national average. For instance, Comparably lists the average salary for a Vice President of Food & Beverage at a significantly higher $210,239 per year. This difference is not a simple contradiction but rather a reflection of variations in data collection and the role definition. The lower figures from some sources may result from a broader dataset that includes a wide range of companies and seniority levels, from smaller organizations to those with less strategic-level Vice Presidents. Conversely, the higher averages may be more representative of executive roles in large, publicly traded companies or those with a broader scope of responsibility. Therefore, relying on a single average is misleading; the true compensation picture for this role is not a single number but a wide and variable range.

This variance in compensation directly correlates with the lack of standardization for the "Vice President" job title. An individual holding this title may have vastly different responsibilities depending on the organization. For example, a Vice President might oversee a specific functional area in a large corporation, while in a smaller firm, the same title could signify a key executive with broad P&L (profit and loss) responsibilities. The compensation, therefore, is ultimately determined by the scope and strategic importance of the role, rather than the title alone.

The Anatomy of Total Compensation: Beyond the Base Salary

A thorough financial analysis of an executive position requires a view of total compensation, which extends well beyond the base salary. An executive's compensation structure is a multi-component system designed to align the individual's financial success with the company's performance and long-term goals.

The core components of a comprehensive executive compensation package typically include:

• Base Salary: This is the fixed, guaranteed portion of an executive's pay, usually disbursed in monthly or bi-monthly payments. One study suggests that base salaries often constitute approximately 30% of a total compensation package, though this percentage can vary significantly by industry and company size, particularly for those in the executive branch.

• Short-Term Incentives (STI): These are performance-based annual bonuses tied to specific Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). A personal account of a promotion from Director to Vice President illustrates this, with the individual's annual bonus eligibility increasing from 28% to 35% of their base salary with the new title.

• Long-Term Incentives (LTI): These components, such as stock options, restricted stock units (RSUs), or profit-sharing plans, are designed to encourage a long-term commitment and align the executive's interests with the company's growth and shareholder value.

• Benefits and Non-Cash Perks: A complete compensation package includes robust benefits such as medical, dental, and vision insurance, as well as a 401(k) plan with matching contributions, which are critical components of the president of compensation and benefits role. Other perks can include company cars, tuition reimbursement, and wellness programs.

A simple calculation using the reported average base salary and the "30% rule" of total compensation from one source would lead to a much higher total compensation figure than other sources report for similar roles. This discrepancy highlights that the mix of compensation components is far from universal. The market reality is that a higher base salary, as reported by some data providers, is often a key feature of a substantial total compensation package. In contrast, a lower base salary may be a feature of a compensation package with a less aggressive incentive structure. An executive's compensation is the sum of these parts, not just the base salary.

The Best-Paying Cities for Vice President Roles

Compensation for a Vice President of Food and Beverage is heavily influenced by geographical location, with a clear correlation to major metropolitan areas and their associated cost of living. The highest salaries for this role are concentrated in key urban centers, particularly in California and the Northeast. Data indicates that the top-paying cities are San Jose, California, with an average salary of $405,291, followed closely by San Francisco, California, at $401,307, and New York, New York, at $372,387. Los Angeles, California, also commands a significant premium, with a reported average salary of $275,239, 31% higher than the reported national average from the same source.

It is important to note a geographical anomaly in some data sources that list Canadian cities and remote Alaskan locations like Barrow and Nome as top-paying. These figures are likely not representative of the broader U.S. market and may result from a tiny sample size or a data collection error. A more comprehensive analysis focuses on major U.S. markets where the volume of data provides a more reliable picture of compensation and benefits salary trends. The fact that many of the highest-paying cities are also technology hubs suggests a convergence of the food and beverage industry with the tech sector, impacting the salary range for vice presidents. This indicates that the most highly valued F&B Vice Presidents possess skills in data analysis, supply chain technology, and digital innovation, which are critical in these markets.

Here is a table summarizing the highest-paying U.S. cities for this executive position based on the most comprehensive data.

Factors Driving Vice President Compensation

Salary by Years of Experience: A Career Trajectory

The progression to a Vice President role is often a culmination of years of industry experience. While specific data for the food and beverage sector is limited, information from analogous roles, such as Vice President of Operations, offers a clear model of a career trajectory. A professional with less than a year of experience in a Vice President role can expect an average salary of $150,000, which is already a high starting point due to the prerequisite experience required to achieve the title. This figure rises to $186,123 for those with more than seven years of experience in the role. This demonstrates that while the title itself commands a substantial entry-level salary, continued growth is tied to a proven track record and the accumulation of complex, senior-level expertise, often seen in the office of the vice president.

Salary by Company Size: Scale and Scope

The size of an organization is a significant determinant of an executive's salary, though not in the way one might initially assume. Data from a study on Vice President of Operations roles reveals a compelling pattern: the average salary is highest at companies with 501-1,000 employees, reaching $211,102, which is a significant figure in the salary range for vice presidents of compensation. This compensation level surpasses the average salaries at both smaller and much larger firms. This finding can be attributed to the nature of the role within a mid-sized company. In these organizations, a Vice President often holds a more expansive, executive-level position with a wider "span of control" and direct influence over the company's financial performance. Their decisions carry more weight and are more visibly tied to the company’s overall success. In contrast, in very large corporations, the "Vice President" title may be a functional role with a more narrowly defined scope of responsibility, which can result in a different pay structure compared to the broader expectations of a president of compensation and benefits. The compensation for a Vice President is therefore more closely tied to the strategic importance and scope of the role than to the sheer number of employees within the organization.

Salary by Gender: The State of the Pay Gap

Direct, specific data on the gender pay gap for a Vice President of Food and Beverage is not readily available. However, a robust analysis can be performed by synthesizing data from related industries and roles. In the general U.S. labor market, women earned an average of 85% of what men earned in 2024, a figure that showed a widening gap for the first time in two decades. For full-time, year-round workers, women were typically paid 83 cents for every dollar paid to a man in 2023. This disparity is not a new phenomenon, but rather a persistent, systemic issue that has affected former vice presidents in various sectors.

Evidence from adjacent sectors supports this conclusion. A study on executive pay in the non-profit sector revealed that female CEOs at larger organizations earned just 75 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts. Similarly, a study of restaurant managers found that men earned approximately 33% more than women, with this gap worsening with seniority and age. The lack of direct data for the F&B Vice President role does not suggest the absence of a gender pay gap. On the contrary, the pattern observed in adjacent fields and at lower management levels strongly implies that this disparity persists and likely becomes more pronounced at the executive level. The issue is multifaceted, with contributing factors including career interruptions for caregiving, negotiation techniques, and a lack of pay transparency within organizations.

Skills That Affect Vice President Salaries

A Vice President’s value in 2025 is a direct function of their specialized skill set. As the food and beverage industry undergoes a technological shift, roles requiring technical or analytical expertise are commanding higher salaries. A demand exists for leaders who can navigate a new landscape of automation, sustainable processes, and data-driven decision-making. This explains why metropolitan areas known for their technological industries also offer some of the highest compensation packages for F&B executives. This is a clear cause-and-effect relationship, where technological and market shifts are changing the fundamental skill requirements of the role, and compensation is a direct reflection of this new value proposition.

Beyond technical expertise, the ability to lead and manage people is a crucial factor in compensation. A proven track record of effective team management and strategic oversight is a foundational requirement that drives earning potential. A Vice President of the future is not simply an expert in food and beverage, but a leader who can successfully integrate a diverse range of business functions to steer the organization toward a successful, data-driven future.

Future Outlook and Strategic Insights

Trends and Projections for 2026: An Economic Forecast

Compensation planning for 2026 is influenced by broader economic trends. U.S. employers are anticipating an average salary increase budget of 3.5% for 2026, a slight decrease from the 3.6% average increases provided in 2025. This marginal decline reflects concerns over the economy and a labor market that is beginning to favor employers.

A key finding for the industry is that the food, beverage, and hospitality sector is projected to have a lower average salary increase of 3.0% for both 2025 and 2026, falling below the national average across all industries. This suggests that while competition for top executive talent is high, the industry as a whole may be facing tighter budget constraints or is simply more conservative with compensation increases compared to more rapidly growing sectors like engineering and science. This places a significant emphasis on the importance of a comprehensive compensation and benefits package beyond base salary to attract and retain talent in a competitive market.

Key Takeaways for Professionals and Employers

This analysis provides a detailed view of the complex financial landscape for a Vice President in the food and beverage industry in 2025. The data demonstrates that compensation is a multi-faceted equation with no single average that captures the full picture.

For Professionals:

• A Vice President’s salary is not a single number but a wide range determined by factors such as location, the strategic scope of the role, and company size.

• Focusing on developing specialized skills in automation, data analysis, and sustainable processes is critical for increasing earning potential in 2025 and beyond.

• Total compensation should be evaluated holistically, including bonuses, equity, and a robust benefits package, as these elements often constitute the most substantial portion of an executive’s financial rewards.

• Be prepared to negotiate compensation, leveraging a strong understanding of market rates and an awareness of the persistent gender pay gap, particularly for roles such as vice president of compensation.

For Employers: Understanding the compensation and benefits salary expectations of future vice presidents is essential for attracting top talent.

• Accurate compensation benchmarking requires analyzing a variety of data sources and understanding their underlying methodologies.

• In a market with modest projected salary increases, a holistic compensation and benefits package that includes non-financial perks is essential for attracting and retaining top-tier talent.

• Regular pay audits and a commitment to pay transparency are crucial for ensuring internal equity and addressing potential gender disparities, which can in turn improve employee morale and performance.

Appendix

Methodological Notes and Data Sources

This report is based on a synthesis of data from multiple sources, including ZipRecruiter, Comparably, Salary.com, and others. The notable discrepancies in average salary figures across these sources were a key challenge and were addressed by analyzing the underlying data collection methods and sample sizes of each source. It is argued that the true state of the market is best understood as a wide range of compensation, not a single average.

Data related to the compensation of the Vice President of the United States, members of Congress, and Supreme Court Justices was intentionally excluded from the main body of this report. This information pertains to federal employment and does not reflect the market dynamics of the private sector.

Key Compensation Terms and Definitions