Paine Schwartz, a private equity firm focusing on sustainable food chain investing, has made an investment in Elemental Enzymes, a developer of naturally occurring enzymes and biochemicals for use in commercial agriculture.

Founded in 2011, Elemental Enzymes is headquartered in St. Louis, Mo., and is focused on enzyme, peptide, protein and biological chemistry services contributing to plant health, yield and profitability. The company’s products boast high potency and low volume use rates, which aims to allow for higher margins and lower capex requirements.

“This strategic investment in Elemental Enzymes is directly aligned with our long-term thesis of identifying companies that sustainably increase productivity in the agriculture space,” comments Kevin Schwartz, CEO of Paine Schwartz. “The company has an impressive suite of products, a robust R&D pipeline, blue-chip customer relationships and a track record of accelerating growth.”

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld served as legal counsel to Paine Schwartz.