Two East Coast foodtech companies seek to feed the growing consumer demand for local food and supply chain transparency through innovative solutions for retail and wholesale buyers.

That’s because Crave Food Services, a food system technology company based in Providence, R.I., acquired Pippin Foods, a New York-based company that provides grocers with technology and in-store marketing tools to promote local produce. Crave Food Services will integrate Pippin’s technology and tools with their virtual farmers market, WhatsGood, which connects consumers and wholesale purchasers to their local farmers, fishermen and artisans via web and mobile apps.

Together, under the WhatsGood brand, they will provide curated and interactive digital content provide to simplify purchasing, promote and sell local food and offer shoppers complete transparency about how, when and where their food was grown.

“I’ve always believed that collaboration is essential to make local food systems truly robust,” says Jennifer Goggin, founder and CEO of Pippin. “Becoming part of the Crave Food Services team lets us provide our retailers with a more powerful and comprehensive ready-to-use solution for their local food program.”

“Joining forces with Pippin was a move that directly supports our mission to generate real food system change by improving access to more healthy, fresh and sustainably-produced food through the expansion of our technology into the retail market,” adds Matt Tortora, co-founder and CEO of Crave Food Services. “Jennifer Goggin is one of the most experienced entrepreneurs in food tech, and we are honored and excited to have her on our team”

A pilot program is slated to run at select locations of Foodtown and Tops Friendly Markets in New York and Vermont throughout the summer season.