What Happened To Five Guys' Fry Cups?

Five Guys has made waves in recent years with its pricey menu, which some people find to be much more expensive than other fast food restaurants. As of August 2026, the chain has around 2,000 restaurants across the world (though the vast majority are right here, in the States), and it has a fairly limited menu: Burgers, sandwiches, and hot dogs, which you can load up with as many of its available toppings as you like, shakes and sodas, and of course its house-cut fries (which Food Republic ranked first among fast food restaurants). Now, it used to be that the fries were served heaped to overflowing in paper cups, but if you've ordered there recently, you might have noticed that your fries came in brown paper bags instead. What gives? Well, in late 2025, Five Guys announced they were switching over to bags for myriad reasons.

One of the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic was that takeout and delivery soared in popularity, so these services now account for a full ¾ of restaurants' business. Seemingly to accommodate the new reality, Five Guys transitioned to paper bags for its fries because it claims that the breathability keeps them fresher and crisper for longer, which is a boon when your delivery takes 50 minutes to reach you.

The bags are also more environmentally friendly. They're made of food-grade biodegradable kraft paper, and free of BPA and PFAS. Further, the material soaks up grease and oil from the fries, meaning that less goes into your body.

Naturally, customers — who are rightfully suspicious of any packaging changes, in this era of fast food shrinkflation — wondered if this meant they would be getting fewer fries per order, with some on Instagram insisting that they did. "Can confirm that the portion I got definitely changed so ... not loving that for $6 fries," one commenter wrote. Another on the same thread wrote they've ordered a few times since the change-up, and they "DEFINITELY" received less.

Commenters on Reddit were equally dismayed, with one person claiming they got the extra scoop of fries that comes with an order, but "the size of the paper bag is so tiny that the total fries is pretty much ½ from previous sizes." They continued that they normally feel full from the portion, but not with the new bags.

Employees of Five Guys were quick to jump in and state that the portion hasn't changed at all, and that if you feel you were shorted, you should speak to a manager so that they can make it right. As it stands, Five Guys' official stance is that the portions are absolutely the same, and that they even rigorously tested to ensure that it was so.