Central Garden & Pet Company Wins Nine ''New Product Awards'' at the 2007 Global Pet Expo

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Including Five 'Best in Show' Awards for Central Pet Brands; Bird & Small Animal, Aquatics and Book Publishing Units Recognized for Innovation

WALNUT CREEK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENT/CENT.A) today announced that it won nine out of a possible 33 new product awards, including five Best In Show awards at the 2007 Global Pet Expo in Orlando, Florida, presented jointly by the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association (APPMA) and the Pet Industry Distributors Association (PIDA).

"The Central Garden & Pet team continues to lead the industry in new product innovation," commented Jim Heim, President of Pet Products Division of Central Garden & Pet. "Once again, Central's brands captured more awards than any other manufacturer highlighted by five 'Best in Show' awards. Each year we take great pride delivering meaningful new products to customers and consumers that help strengthen the bond between pets and their owners."

Awards won by Central Pet brands, by category, are:

Aquatics - Oceanic; Second place for its Ultimate Aquarium Series featuring Starphire Glass

Bird - Super Pet; Best in Show for its Feathered Fun Wall Mount Activity Center; Second Place for its EZ Care Bow Front Mini Playtop Cage for Small Birds; and Third Place for its Feathered Fun Desktop Activity Center

Equine - TFH Publications; Second place for its Getting to Yes book

Gift - TFH Publications; Best in Show for its Animal Planet Pet Care Library (25 books)

    Holiday - TFH Publications; Best in Show for its Doggy Knits

    Reptile - Zilla; Best in Show for its Combo Dome

Small Animal - Super Pet; Best in Show for its Premium Hexagon Hutch

"I would like to recognize the efforts of the Bird & Small Animal Strategic Business Unit team, consisting of the brands Kaytee and Super Pet, which had another remarkable new product showcase," continued Mr. Heim. "Additionally, TFH Publications, once again, demonstrated leadership in innovative pet book publishing. Finally, we are beginning to see the benefits of our Aquatics strategic business unit which won two awards including a Best in Show award. We are very proud of these accomplishments."

Mr. Heim concluded: "Innovation, quality and service, we believe, are Central Pet's core competitive strengths. Our objective is to deliver over 15% of our branded product sales each year from new products launched within the past two years and to continue to be an industry leader in product innovation."

Central Garden & Pet Company is a leading innovator, marketer and producer of quality branded products for the Lawn & Garden and Pet supplies markets. Committed to new product innovation, our products are sold to specialty independent and mass retailers in the following categories: In Lawn & Garden: Grass seed including the brands Pennington and The Rebels; Wild bird feed and the brands Pennington and Kaytee; Weed and insect control and the brands AMDRO, Sevin, Ironite and OverNOut and; Decorative outdoor patio products and the brands Norcal, New England Pottery and Matthews Four Seasons. We also provide a host of other regional and application-specific garden brands and supplies. Pet categories include: Animal health and the brands Adams and Zodiac; Aquatics and reptile and the brands Oceanic, Aqueon and RZilla; Bird & Small animal and the brands Kaytee, Super Pet and CritterTrail; Dog & Cat and the brands TFH/Nylabone, Four Paws, Pinnacle and Avoderm and; Equine and the brands Farnam, Bronco and Super Mask. We also provide a host of other application-specific Pet brands and supplies. Central Garden & Pet is based in Walnut Creek, California, and has approximately 5,000 employees, primarily in North America and Europe. For additional information on Central Garden & Pet, including access to the Company's SEC filings, please visit the Company's website at http://www.central.com/.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: The statements contained in this release which are not historical facts, including future earnings guidance, are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in or implied by forward-looking statements. These risks are described in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and other Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Central undertakes no obligation to publicly update these forward-looking statements to reflect new information, subsequent events or otherwise.

Source: Central Garden & Pet Company

Released March 2, 2007