A Davis company has signed an exclusive research and development deal with gardening giant Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. to develop green pesticides for the consumer lawn and garden market.
Marrone Bio Innovations will manufacture and supply biopesticides that are developed by the partnership, while Scotts Miracle-Gro will retain worldwide marketing rights.
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
"Having the marketing muscle of a leader like Scotts is significant for us and brings us credibility," said Pam Marrone, the company's CEO.
Marrone Bio makes pesticides, fungicides and herbicides from microorganisms and plant extracts for the agricultural market.
Marrone said the deal won't create new jobs at her company, which employs about 70 people.
But she said it will expand the firm's reach into the consumer market, where the popularity of safer, green products is growing.
Scotts currently has its own line of nature-based products, as do competitors Central Garden & Pet and Bayer Advanced.
Jon Andersen, analyst with William Blair & Co. in Chicago, said consumer demand has pushed the lawn and garden industry and the packaged goods industry as a whole toward more environmentally safe practices.
He said companies have moved toward environmentally friendly packaging and organic chemicals that cause less damage to the water supply.
Based in Marysville, Ohio, Scotts Miracle-Gro is the world's largest brand for lawn and garden care, with annual sales of about $3 billion.
Marrone founded her firm in 2006 in a small car garage in Davis. It now occupies 20,000 square feet of space in Davis' Commerce Park building.
"We are excited about this new partnership with MBI because we believe it will lead to improved products that enable gardeners who choose natural options to get great results," said Bruce Caldwell, Scotts Miracle-Gro's global research and development leader.
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