Automated vape machines are becoming an essential addition to high-traffic hospitality venues, offering customers a compliant, convenient way to access vaping products without involving staff. This case study explores how Vape Bot automated vape machines were permanently installed inside Temple Bar, one of Cardiff’s busiest late-night venues. The installation provided meaningful operational benefits, supported compliance requirements, and delivered customer contact data through The Bridge, giving the venue new marketing capabilities that extend far beyond the bar counter.
Temple Bar sits at the heart of Mill Lane, an area known for dense evening footfall, sports fans, students and weekend groups circulating between pubs. With frequent live events and a strong nighttime economy, the venue experiences constant movement and a diverse customer base. One challenge consistently reported by staff was the volume of customers asking where they could buy vapes locally. These interruptions often occurred at peak times, adding pressure to an already busy team. Customers leaving the venue to find a vape shop sometimes created extra congestion outside and, in some cases, never returned.
The problem
Before adopting automated vape machines, Temple Bar faced two ongoing issues. First, staff were repeatedly asked for directions to vape retailers in the city centre. These conversations interrupted service, slowed bar operations and occasionally contributed to queue build-up. Second, customers frequently left the venue in search of vaping products, creating unnecessary movement in and out of the building and sometimes leading to lost revenue.
The venue was also aware of the compliance challenges involved in selling vaping products directly. Licensing requirements, age verification and staff training all carried risk. Management wanted a solution that would offer customers a legal and reliable way to purchase vaping products onsite without involving staff or increasing liability.
The venue also expressed interest in better understanding customer behaviour. Traditional bar operations offer limited visibility of guests beyond sales transactions. With growing competition in Cardiff’s leisure sector, Temple Bar wanted a way to gather voluntary customer data that could be used to communicate future promotions, events and offers.
What we installed: Vape Bot automated vape machines
Temple Bar installed two Vape Bot automated vape machines inside the venue: one near the front entrance and one along the side corridor leading toward the outdoor seating area. This placement ensured clear visibility without blocking customer movement.
Vape Bot includes an integrated touchscreen, clear product listings, regulated warnings and full contactless payment support. Crucially, the system includes automatic age verification technology, ensuring that all sales are legally compliant without requiring bar staff to intervene. Customers select their product, verify their age and complete payment within seconds.
Vape Bot offers a range of compliant disposable vapes and nicotine pouches. The machines operate entirely independently, meaning staff never need to handle stock, resolve disputes or manage any aspect of the process.
Every transaction flows into The Bridge, which captures behavioural insights such as purchase timing, product trends and optional customer contact details. When customers opt in, their mobile numbers are stored in the venue’s marketing database, allowing Temple Bar to send messages about upcoming events and promotions. This turns a simple vending interaction into meaningful long-term engagement.
The results: long-term operational and marketing improvements
Since the installation of automated vape machines, Temple Bar has observed significant improvements in customer flow and service efficiency. Staff interruptions from customers asking where to buy vapes have almost disappeared, particularly during busy weekend periods. The venue reports smoother queue movement and fewer service delays, as staff are able to stay focused on bar operations.
Data from The Bridge reveals that most purchases occur during mid-evening and late-night hours, aligning with peak customer turnover. Disposable vapes remain the most popular products, with strong repeat usage across weekends.
Compliance has been flawless. Vape Bot’s age verification system has successfully prevented underage access and eliminated the need for bar staff to make judgment calls. This has helped the venue maintain high regulatory standards without additional training or workload.
The marketing impact has also been significant. As customers receive digital receipts via SMS, Temple Bar has built a growing database of customer contacts. The venue can now send promotional messages, event notifications and reminders directly to guests who opted in. This creates a new revenue opportunity entirely separate from bar sales.
External guidance on regulated products, such as the requirements listed at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/e-cigarettes-regulations-for-consumer-products, supports the use of automated systems that control verification and prevent underage access. Vape Bot aligns perfectly with these expectations.
Overall, automated vape machines have proven to be a valuable asset for Temple Bar. They support compliance, reduce operational strain, improve customer experience and create new engagement channels through data captured via The Bridge.
