Central Garden & Pet CEO Adopts New 10b5-1 Plan.

Business Editors

LAFAYETTE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 28, 2004

Central Garden & Pet Company (Nasdaq:CENT) today announced that Glenn Novotny, President and Chief Executive Officer of Central, has adopted a new prearranged trading plan in accordance with guidelines specified by Rule 10b5-1 of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, and the Company's policies with respect to insider sales.

Rule 10b5-1 permits officers and directors of public companies to adopt predetermined written plans for selling specified amounts of stock. The plans may be implemented only when the director or officer is not in possession of material non-public information, and may be used to gradually diversify investment portfolios and to minimize the market effect of stock sales by spreading them out over an extended period of time.

Under this 10b5-1 plan, Mr. Novotny may sell up to 125,000 shares of the Company's common stock. The shares to be sold under the plan are issuable to Mr. Novotny under stock option agreements that expire in January and July 2005. Under this sales plan, Mr. Novotny will exercise options each month and sell all of the Central common stock acquired upon exercise, assuming the stock price exceeds a prearranged minimum stock price. Mr. Novotny is adopting the 10b5-1 plan on the recommendation of his advisors as an orderly way of dealing with stock options which are scheduled to expire within the next year.

Central Garden & Pet Company is a leading innovator, marketer and producer of quality branded products for the pet and lawn and garden supplies markets. Our pet products include pet bird and small animal food, aquarium products, flea, tick, mosquito and other pest control products, edible bones, cages, carriers, pet books, and other dog, cat, reptile and small animal products. These products are sold under a number of brand names, including Kaytee, All-Glass Aquarium, Oceanic, Kent Marine, Zodiac, Pre-Strike, Altosid, Nylabone, TFH, Four Paws and Interpet. Our lawn and garden products include grass seed, wild bird food, weed and insect control products, decorative outdoor patio products and ant control products. These products are sold under a number of brand names, including Pennington, Norcal Pottery, New England Pottery, GKI/Bethlehem Lighting, Lilly Miller, Matthews Four Seasons, AMDRO and Grant's. For additional information on Central Garden & Pet, including access to the Company's SEC filings, please visit the Company's website at http://www.centralgardenandpet.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 Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Central undertakes no obligation to publicly update these forward-looking statements to reflect new information, subsequent events or otherwise.