CENTRAL GARDEN & PET CO

The Board of Directors of Central Garden & Pet Company (the “Company”) is soliciting proxies to be used at the Annual Meeting of Shareholders on February 12, 2025 (the “Annual Meeting”), for the purposes set forth in the foregoing notice. This proxy statement (the “Proxy Statement”) and, in the case of holders of Common Stock and Class B Stock, the form of proxy, were first sent to shareholders on or about December 30, 2024. Holders of Class A Common Stock will receive this Proxy Statement but will not be entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting of Shareholders or any adjournment thereof.

Pursuant to rules adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), the Company has elected to provide access to proxy materials (consisting of the Notice of Annual Meeting, this Proxy Statement and our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 28, 2024) by posting them on the Internet on December 30, 2024. Therefore, the Company is sending a Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials (the “Notice”) to its shareholders. Starting on the date of distribution of the Notice, all shareholders will have the ability to access the proxy materials on the website referred to in the Notice or request to receive a printed set of the proxy materials. Instructions on how to access the proxy materials over the Internet or to request printed copies may be found in the Notice. If a Class B or Common shareholder requests printed versions of the proxy materials by mail, the materials will also include a proxy card or other voting instruction form.

If a Class B or Common shareholder holds shares in its own name as a shareholder of record, such Class B or Common shareholder may vote shares at the Annual Meeting or by proxy. The platform for the virtual Annual Meeting includes functionality that affords validated shareholders the same meeting participation rights and opportunities they would have at an in-person meeting. Instructions to access and log-in to the virtual Annual Meeting are provided below, and once admitted, shareholders may view reference materials such as our list of shareholders as of the record date, submit questions and (for Class B or Common shareholders) vote their shares by following the instructions that will be available on the meeting website. To vote by proxy, Class B or Common shareholders should vote in one of the following ways:

Voting by proxy will not affect the right of Class B or Common shareholders to vote shares during the Meeting—by voting during the Meeting such Class B or Common shareholders automatically revoke their proxy. Class B or Common shareholders may also revoke a proxy at any time before the applicable voting deadline by giving the Company’s Secretary written notice of revocation, by submitting a later-dated proxy card or by voting again using the telephone or Internet (the latest telephone or Internet proxy is the one that will be counted).

If you vote by proxy, the individuals named as proxyholders will vote the shares as instructed. If a Class B or Common shareholder votes shares over the telephone, such Class B or Common shareholder must select a voting option (“For” or “Withhold” (for directors) and “For,” “Against” or “Abstain” (for Proposals Two and Three) in order for the proxy to be counted on that matter. If a Class B or Common shareholder validly votes shares over the Internet or by mail but does not provide any voting instructions, the individuals named as proxyholders will vote such shares FOR the election of the nominees for director, FOR the ratification of the appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending September 27, 2025 and FOR the approval of the amendment to the certification of incorporation to include an officer exculpation provision.

Central Garden & Pet Company 1 2025 Proxy Statement

If shares are registered in street name, Class B or Common shareholders must vote shares in the manner prescribed by the broker, bank or other nominee. In most instances, a Class B or Common shareholder can do this over the telephone or Internet, or if a Class B or Common shareholder has received or requested a hard copy of the proxy statement and accompanying voting instruction form, the Class B or Common shareholder may mark, sign, date and mail the voting instruction form in the envelope the broker, bank or other nominee provides. The materials that were sent to Class B or Common shareholders have specific instructions for how to submit votes and the deadline for doing so. If a Class B or Common shareholder would like to revoke its proxy, such Class B or Common shareholder must follow the broker, bank or other nominee’s instructions on how to do so. If a Class B or Common shareholder wishes to vote at the Annual Meeting, such Class B or Common shareholder may vote their shares by participating in the Annual Meeting and voting their shares over the Internet.

Access and Log-In Instructions for Virtual Annual Meeting

To be admitted to the Annual Meeting, go to https://www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/CENT2025 and enter the 16-digit control number on your notice of internet availability of proxy materials or proxy card previously distributed to shareholders. Online access to the Annual Meeting will open at 10:15 a.m. Pacific Time to allow time for shareholders to log-in prior to the start of the live audio webcast of the Annual Meeting at 10:30 a.m. Pacific Time. The virtual meeting platform is widely supported across most browsers and devices running the most updated version of applicable software and plugins. Participants, however, should allow sufficient time prior to the start of the meeting to log-in and ensure that they can hear streaming audio prior to the start of the meeting. If any log-in difficulties are encountered, please call the technical support number on the log-in page. It is important that shareholders read the proxy materials that were previously distributed, and we strongly encourage Class B and Common shareholders to vote in advance of the Annual Meeting, even if they are planning to log in and participate through the internet.