FoodLink Online Taps Food Industry Veteran to Lead the Company's New Growth Strategy as Chief Executive Officer

TORRANCE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--FMI Booth #6035 – FoodLink Online, the end-to-end supply chain solution serving the perishables foods market, announces the appointment of Eric Peters as Chief Executive Officer. He will succeed Vijay Yajnik, who had been in the same role since 2002. Yajnik will remain with the company as Chairman of the Board.

“I’m really excited about the opportunities available to us at FoodLink Online to become the preeminent leader within the fresh food supply chain”

In his new role, Peters plans to build on and accelerate FoodLink Online's recent growth. He also plans to expand the footprint and look for ways to create additional value for customers, both buyers and suppliers, in the perishable foods value chain.

“FoodLink Online represents an incredible opportunity to really change how the market not only buys and sells perishables, but how the market can manage the flow and protect the integrity of perishable foods,” said Peters. “Our solutions today can manage our customers’ entire procurement process. As the perishable industry continues to grow, we intend to evolve and expand with it by extending our capabilities to ensure efficient, safe and traceable supply chains for our customers.”

Before joining FoodLink Online, Peters was President of Acosta TrueDemand. He joined Acosta as a result of the acquisition of TrueDemand by Acosta Sales & Marketing in December of 2009. Prior to the acquisition he was Chief Executive Officer, Co-Founder and Board Member of TrueDemand Software, a company which focused on helping consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies lift sales at the shelf through improved store merchandising, retail replenishment and supply chain efficiency.

“Eric is the man to take FoodLink to the next level. His experience in the food industry and management skills are a great platform to take the company forward,” said Tom Unterman, FoodLink Online Board Member and Managing Partner of Rustic Canyon Partners, which has majority ownership of FoodLink Online.

Prior to helping start TrueDemand, Peters was Executive Vice President of Strategy and Business Development at Manhattan Associates. Prior to that, he held a variety of leadership positions as an executive in Accenture’s Supply Chain Strategy Practice. He started his career in supply chain consulting at Tompkins Associates, a specialty supply chain consulting firm. Peters has been featured and quoted in hundreds of articles on supply chain issues and is a contributing author to several books on the subject.

“I’m really excited about the opportunities available to us at FoodLink Online to become the preeminent leader within the fresh food supply chain,” said Peters. “The company has built a very powerful network of system users and amassed valuable data for nearly a decade. By delivering this information in a meaningful manner, we can provide incredible value to the industry.”

FoodLink Online's web-based procurement platform reduces costs, increases accuracy and enhances food traceability compliance across the entire perishables supply chain by connecting buyers, sellers and carriers. The company will exhibit at the Food Marketing Institute FMI2010 annual conference at booth #6035.

About FoodLink Online

Since 1999, FoodLink Online has been a leader in end-to-end supply chain solution in the perishable foods market. FoodLink offers a web-based platform that creates seamless connections among all parties and their systems, including buyers, sellers and carriers. FoodLink Online connects more than 1,300 vendors and carriers to leading grocers, food wholesalers and food service companies to help better manage inventory, improve buying decisions, and reduce order management errors. For more information, visit www.foodlinkonline.com.

About Rustic Canyon Partners

Since its founding in 1999, Rustic Canyon has been one of the largest venture capital firms based in Southern California. With a second office in San Francisco, we maintain direct contact with the entrepreneurial innovation and ecosystem of Northern California. Our presence in these locations and our roots in these communities provide Rustic Canyon with extensive connections to entrepreneurs, management teams and other strategic resources to help build value for our portfolio companies and investors. www.rusticcanyon.com