700 New Accounts Now Serviced By Filterfresh

Westwood, MA -- November 15, 2002 -- Filterfresh Coffee Service, Inc., a subsidiary of Van Houtte Inc., announced today that it has acquired Aqua Perfect of Central Ohio, an authorized dealer of innowave water systems. Based in Columbus, Aqua Perfect has an installed base of more than 1,200 point-of-use (POU) water cooler systems in 700 customer accounts. The company will be merged with the existing Filterfresh operation in Columbus.

"We are thrilled to have completed this latest acquisition," said Roger Cohen, president of Filterfresh Coffee Service Inc. "Not only does it allow Filterfresh to market its coffee services to more than 700 new clients, but it establishes the company as the market share leader in innowave POU water systems in the Central Ohio region. This is consistent with Filterfresh’s strategy to offer the most comprehensive beverage solution to businesses nationwide."

Filterfresh Columbus will continue to employ the majority of the Aqua Perfect staff and owner Bob O'Brien will remain with the company to oversee the integration of the two businesses.

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.

About Van Houtte Inc.
Founded in 1919, Van Houtte is one of North America’s leading gourmet coffee roasters, marketers, and distributors. Van Houtte pools three complementary groups of expertise: roasting and marketing of gourmet coffees, coffee services and the manufacturing of single-cup equipment. This enables Van Houtte to offer its North American consumers unique products and serve them anywhere, anytime. Van Houtte employs directly 1,800 people. It posted sales of $280 million for its latest fiscal year. Corporate financial website: http://finance.vanhoutte.com.