CENTA

Central Garden & Pet Company

A maker of pet supplies and lawn-and-garden products sold in U.S. stores, with brands like Nylabone dog chews, Kaytee bird and small-animal food, Pennington grass seed, and Amdro pest control. It began in 1980 as Central Garden Supply, a California distributor founded by William Brown, and grew by buying up familiar brands. Fun fact: Amdro's fire ant bait uses "delayed toxicity," so worker ants carry it back to the mound and feed it to the queen, wiping out the whole colony.