Seattle's Best Coffee Introduces New Coffee Card Benefit Rewarding Customers for Repeat Patronage


SEATTLE, Aug. 14, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Seattle's Best Coffee(r), LLC, a subsidiary of AFC Enterprises, Inc. (Nasdaq:AFCE), is introducing today a loyalty incentive that will reward customers for their repeat visits as a value added to their Seattle's Best Card.

With this program, for every 10 visits to a Seattle's Best Coffee(r) cafe, when customers use their Seattle's Best Card for a minimum transaction of $2.50, they are eligible to receive a free beverage. The credit card terminal automatically counts and tracks the number of visits. On the tenth transaction a receipt is generated indicating the guest receives a free drink on his or her next visit.

"This is the first time a repeat visit reward incentive has been built into a stored-value coffee card," said Steve Schickler, president of Seattle Coffee Company, parent company of Seattle's Best Coffee(r). "We're proud to be the first major specialty coffee company to reward our most loyal guests with this new coffee card technology. Our guests asked us for a repeat incentive and we are happy to honor their request with this unique card."

About Seattle Coffee Company

Founded in 1971, Seattle Coffee Company, a subsidiary of AFC Enterprises, Inc., franchises and operates 186 Seattle's Best Coffee(r) (www.seattlesbest.com) and 21 Torrefazione Italia(r) Coffee (www.titalia.com) cafes in eight countries. The company has more than 11,900 wholesale points of distribution, including grocery stores, restaurants, foodservice locations, airlines and hotels. Seattle's Best Coffee(r) offers a wide selection of coffee blends including a full line of organic coffee.

The company supports TransFair USA, a non-profit monitoring agency, by offering Fair Trade Certified(r) coffee. Seattle's Best Coffee(r) also offers organic coffee certified by the Organic Crop Improvement Association ("OCIA"). The OCIA is an international program of certification to strict organic standards. It is the world's largest organic certification agency and has been accredited by the USDA. OCIA is a respected voice in the international organic community.

About AFC Enterprises

AFC Enterprises, Inc. (Nasdaq:AFCE) is the franchisor and operator of more than 3,911 restaurants, bakeries and cafes in the United States, Puerto Rico, and 28 other countries under the brand names Church's Chicken(tm), Popeyes(r) Chicken & Biscuits, Cinnabon(r), Seattle's Best Coffee(r), and Torrefazione Italia(r) Coffee. AFC's primary objective is to be the world's Franchisor of Choice(r) by offering investment opportunities in highly recognizable brands and exceptional franchisee support systems and services. AFC had system-wide sales of approximately $2.6 billion in 2001 and can be found on the World Wide Web at www.afce.com.

Note: Fair Trade Certified(r) is a registered trademark of TransFair USA.



            

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