Central Garden &Pet Appoints Lee D. Hines, Jr. Chief Financial Officer.

Business Editors

LAFAYETTE, CALIFORNIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--January 24, 2000

Central Garden &Pet Company (NASDAQ: CENT) today announced the appointment of Lee D. Hines, Jr. to the position of Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Hines succeeds Robert B. Jones, who has served as Central's Chief Financial Officer since 1993. Mr. Jones will remain Vice President, reporting to the Chief Executive Officer, and will focus on implementing the Company's strategic initiatives for profitability improvement.

Commenting on these changes, William E. Brown, Central's Chief Executive Officer, stated, &uot;I am delighted that Lee will be rejoining Central in his new role. Lee played a significant role in preparing Central for its June 1993 IPO, and his advice and counsel as a Director during the past seven years have been greatly valued. I am looking forward to working with Lee in the months and years ahead as Central continues to focus on profitable growth to maximize shareholder value. I am also extremely pleased that Bob Jones will remain an integral part of the Central team.&uot;

Hines began his business career with the Chase Manhattan Bank in New York as a domestic and international lending officer and International Trade Specialist. From 1978 to 1982 he served as Vice President Finance and Chief Financial Officer of Vivitar Corporation. Following his tenure at Vivitar, Hines held the position of Chief Financial Officer of Applause, Inc. until 1987. From 1988 to 1990 he served as President and Chief Executive Officer of International Tropic-Cal, a designer, manufacturer and distributor of sunglasses and women's hair accessories.

Hines joined Central Garden &Pet Company in 1990 as Chief Financial Officer, a position he held until June of 1993. At that time Hines resigned his position at Central to start a private corporate consulting practice. Hines has also served on Central's Board of Directors since June of 1993, and until September 1999, chaired the Audit and Compensation Committees of the Board. Hines will remain a member of Central's Board.

Central Garden &Pet Company is the nation's leading manufacturer, supplier, and merchandiser of consumer lawn and garden and pet supply products. Central's proprietary branded products include Pennington Seed(R), Kaytee(R), TFH(R), Nylabone(R), Zodiac(R), and Four Paws(R) pet products, Island(R) aquariums, Matthews(R) Four Seasons products and Grant's(R) ant control products. Central offers its retail and branded manufacturing partners a wide array of value-added services proven to increase sales and profitability, including logistics and distribution support, inventory management, advertising and promotional programs, in-store merchandising service, and sales program development. 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.

&uot;Safe Harbor&uot; Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: The statements contained in this release which are not historical facts 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, including, without limitation, the final accounting for all issues between the Company and Monsanto under the Solaris Agreement, such as the amounts receivable from Monsanto for cost reimbursements, payments for cost reductions and payments for services; the amounts payable to Monsanto for inventory; responsibility for obsolete inventory and for non-payment by Solaris' direct sales accounts; and costs associated with the realignment of the Company's lawn and garden distribution operations to reflect anticipated business levels for the fiscal year 2000.