Westwood, Mass. --- February 12, 2004 --- Van Houtte Inc. (TSX: VH) announced today that its U.S. subsidiary, Filterfresh Coffee Service Inc., has completed four new acquisitions of beverage service companies, furthering its leadership position in the U.S. coffee services market.

In the most significant acquisition to date, Filterfresh has taken a great step towards the consolidation of the important New York market with its acquisition of the remaining portion of Mrs. Java, a Filterfresh coffee services company jointly owned by Filterfresh and two minority partners. Following the acquisition, Filterfresh formed a joint venture with Corporate Coffee Systems, one of the preeminent coffee service operations in the New York market.

In business for more than 20 years, with a consistently growing customer base, Corporate Coffee Systems has been a pioneer in the development of innovative marketing programs and is one of the largest Keurig distributors in New York. The new joint venture will be owned 56% by Filterfresh and 44% by Corporate Coffee Systems principals David Henchel, Gregg Henchel and Donn Luti.

In Columbus, Ohio Filterfresh has acquired D. Castle Enterprises, a coffee services company. This operation will be merged with the existing Filterfresh Columbus location.

Also in Ohio, Arctic Water of Cleveland has been 100% acquired by RNR Refreshment Services, a joint venture operation with Filterfresh. Filterfresh Coffee Service has also acquired Filterfresh Hartford, which services Hartford and Eastern Connecticut.

“These acquisitions further strengthen our already deep market penetration in New York and Ohio, as well as establish a renewed presence for us in the Connecticut market,” said Roger Cohen, president of Filterfresh Coffee Service Inc. “In our commitment to being the dominant player in the office coffee market in the U.S., we plan to continue to acquire profitable franchises, successful independents and partner with like-minded businesses that add value to our service offering.”

About Van Houtte Inc.
Founded in 1919, Van Houtte is one of North America's leading gourmet coffee roasters, marketers and distributors. The Company markets its gourmet coffees across Canada and the U.S. through distribution channels that include coffee services, retail stores, café-bistros, online shopping and food services networks. (www.vanhoutte.com)

About Filterfresh Coffee Service, Inc.
Filterfresh Coffee Service, Inc., based in Westwood, Mass., is a subsidiary of Van Houtte Inc. The company, a pioneer in single-cup coffee makers, provides state-of-the-art equipment, beverages, programs and services to offices, manufacturing facilities, supermarkets, hotels, retailers and other places of employment. For further information on Filterfresh, its growth plans or franchise opportunities, visit the Web site at www.filterfresh.com.