{"id":18718,"date":"2026-04-21T13:38:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T13:38:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/18718\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T13:38:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T13:38:21","slug":"britains-first-vending-machine-for-chips-launched-in-wales","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/18718\/","title":{"rendered":"Britain’s first vending machine for chips launched in Wales"},"content":{"rendered":"

Captain Chip’s self-serve chip vending machine is selling the snack for \u00a32.99Benedict Tetzlaff-Deas News Reporter, Paul Horton and Robert Harries<\/a> Senior Reporter<\/p>\n

14:14, 21 Apr 2026<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

A vending machine in Wrexham serves up piping hot chips and is set to be followed by others across the country<\/p>\n

The UK’s first chip vending machine has made its debut \u2013 and getting your dinner is as simple as tapping a screen.<\/p>\n

Captain Chip has launched its \u00a32.99 self-serve chip vending machine in Wrexham<\/a> city centre, with plans to roll out further machines in London, serving up portions in a handy box.<\/p>\n

However the prospect of buying chips in the same manner as a chocolate bar or packet of crisps has divided shoppers with some branding the novel contraption “ridiculous”.<\/p>\n

The company claims that within just 160 seconds customers can walk away with a portion of piping hot chips \u2013 with the added option of salt or ketchup.<\/p>\n

Captain Chip bosses say the response to the machine has so far been “brilliant”. A spokesman added: “Wrexham felt like the right place to launch this concept.<\/p>\n

“Eagles Meadow shopping centre is a hub for the community and Captain Chip is designed to slot into moments where people want something hot, quick, and satisfying without queuing or committing to a full sit-down meal.” For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The arrival of the Captain Chip machine in Wrexham represents one of the concept’s first public outings.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

The idea has split opinion <\/p>\n

The unit is entirely self-contained and requires no permanent members of staff to operate. One shopper said the chips “seem expensive when you can get a cone in Jones Chippy for under \u00a32” while another added: “We got some a few weeks ago and they weren’t the best.<\/p>\n

“But a sort of good idea when shops are shut.”<\/p>\n

An enthusiastic local said: “We need a pizza vending machine. Quite a long wait but so good.”<\/p>\n

But less-impressed patrons said they would continue to buy their chips the “old-fashioned” way.<\/p>\n

One said: “‘I’ll be going somewhere where there is a person behind the counter” and another commented: “Ridiculous idea. Who thought of this when trade is already dying and these proper chippies and food places are struggling to make profit already?”<\/p>\n

Others saw the funnier side with an imaginative shopper joking: “I feel sorry for the person all day sat inside it peeling spuds.”<\/p>\n

The development comes against a backdrop of spiralling energy costs and rocketing fish prices, which have forced the price of Britain’s beloved national dish to surge dramatically in recent years leaving many traditional chip shops with little choice but to raise their prices, reports the Mirror<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Between 2019 and 2024 the typical cost of fish and chips across the UK jumped by 52% to reach an average of \u00a39.88 with some upmarket establishments now charging upwards of \u00a315.<\/p>\n

Get daily breaking news updates on your phone by joining our WhatsApp community here<\/a>. We occasionally treat members to special offers, promotions and ads from us and our partners. See our Privacy Notice<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Captain Chip’s self-serve chip vending machine is selling the snack for \u00a32.99Benedict Tetzlaff-Deas News Reporter, Paul Horton and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18719,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[13,1398,982,984],"class_list":{"0":"post-18718","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-britain","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-food-and-drink","10":"tag-north-wales","11":"tag-wrexham"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/116442975828880768","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18718"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18718\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18719"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}