Central Garden & Pet — California Headquarters of Burpee’s Acquirer
The seed company that started as a teenager’s mail-order poultry venture in 1876 has a new corporate owner. W. Atlee Burpee Co., the Bucks County-based gardening institution that has shipped seeds to American backyards for 150 years, has been acquired by Central Garden & Pet Co., a Walnut Creek, California-based pet and garden supply conglomerate. The deal closed on September 30, though it was only announced Monday.
According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, Burpee will operate as a separate entity and remain headquartered in Pennsylvania, with current leadership, including chief executive Jamie Mattikow, staying in place. Burpee is based in Bucks County and has operated in the Philadelphia area since Washington Atlee Burpee founded it in Philadelphia in 1876. The company still runs Fordhook Farm in Doylestown, the experimental grounds where generations of Burpee breeders have tested new varieties…