Maketer and producer of

Quality branded pet and garden products

Mission and Vision             

Central Garden & Pet Company is a leading innovator, marketer and producer of quality branded products for the pet and garden supplies markets.

Its pet products include a wide range of pet products, from bird and small animal food and treats as well as aquarium products, cages and a variety of pet health products.

These products are sold under a number of brand names such as Kaytee, All-Glass Aquarium, Oceanic, Kent Marine, Nylabone, Four Paws, etc.

Through its portfolio of leading brands and a dedicated sales and logistics network, Central's goal is to be a high performing growth company that innovates, markets and produces quality branded products that are number 1 or 2 in their respective markets.

These markets include: aquariums and water conditioners; specialty pet food; pet treats, grooming and hygiene; insect and pest control and; book publishing for pets.

The Company also provides unparalleled customer service to retailers and strategic partners through its network of logistics centers and an extensive selling organization.

The Company's key business strategies are to grow its existing brands, develop and launch new innovative products and make strategic acquisitions.

Innovation

The growth of Central Garden & Pet comes from two sources: Organic growth and;

Growth-through-acquisition.

The foundation of its organic growth is innovation. Its objective is that 15% of the total company sales are derived from products launched within the past 24 months and it consistently meets or exceeds this goal. Central works closely with its retail customers and consumers during the research and development process to identify new trends, requirements and other critical information to develop the highest impact product and packaging. To this end, Central has won over 40 awards for product and packaging innovation since 2000.

Acquisition

Additionally, Central continues to grow through a series of strategic acquisitions. Year-to-date, Central has acquired four businesses, two in the Pet Products segment and two in the Garden Products segment. In the pet industry, it acquired Kent Marine, a leading manufacturer and supplier of saltwater supplements and conditioners. The second pet acquisition was Interpet in the United Kingdom. This acquisition enables Central to expand the sales of their existing products into Europe as well as import Interpet product to the U.S. marker.

Garden and Pet products

Central views the Pet and Garden as complimentary industries. The demographic trends are favourable. First, consumers are clearly spending more time in and around the home. Whether it is due to an aging population in its markets, the real estate 'boom' in the US, geopolitical uncertainty or other reason, these two industries continue to grow at impressive rates. The pace of growth for the US garden industry is roughly 4-6% per year. The pace of growth in the Pet industry is slightly higher, in 5-7% range.

Second, Central views both industries as relatively large and highly fragmented. Gardening is approximately a $52 billion industry and is the number 1 leisure activity in the US. Over 80 million households participate in gardening. The total US Pet industry is roughly a $33 billion industry. Central's segment of the industry, wholesale Pet supplies which constitutes roughly 12% of total industry sales, is more fragmented with over 2,000 manufacturers. Central is the largest participant, and reports to have the most extensive distribution and relationship network.

Third, Central is well positioned in both industries. It notes that nearly every industry comes down to two competitors. Central is either the largest or the second largest supplier in each industry and/or specific segment. Furthermore, retailers are becoming savvier in their product positioning strategies, typically opting for premium brand and a value brand representation, eliminating the SKUs that fall in between the two brand choices. Central is either the number 2 brand in each industry, avoiding the middle ground.

Retailers

Central Garden & Pet is servicing over 5,000 clients per week. It assists their customers with both in-store advertising campaigns and other external marketing events designed to generate awareness, increased traffic and sales. Since it stocks on a weekly basis, Central knows which marketing campaigns and product lines are generating the prescribed results. It further enables The Company to aggregate data to identify specific trends on a local, regional and national level.

Future

Central's objective for the near future is to become bigger, stronger and faster.

Bigger in terms of geographic and channel expansion. Its objective is twofold:

·To expand its presence within existing retail customers as well as proliferate its branded products into additional retail outlets;

·Taking a measured approach, expand its leading brands into the international marketplace. In this respect Interpet represents its first material geographic expansion outside of the US. With both the domestic and international initiatives,it is implementing measures that support controlled growth.

Sources: PETS International Magazine