Lets say a 7.5 oz rectangularish container. What would be the best fry to appear to give people a lot of fry but actually giving them the least? Are there any container shapes that can help optimize this skimping?
You’re doing it wrong. You want more fries, to distract from the thinner burger. Fries are cheaper than meat. They eat the fries and burger and are still full, it seems like a bargain. Also see: fluffy bun.
I agree with the other poster. You want to maximize the amount of fries you give people, and minimize the protein.
However, that’s not going to stop us from trying to get one over on our customers, your fry containers can have an arched bottom, pushing them up making them look bigger. You could randomize the fry insertion so that they are not all vertical, meaning that they take up more space. Think of it like piling a bunch of crayons versus stacking them vertically.
You could cook the fries in real animal fat, making them taste better, making people thankful even for smaller portions.
Slightly related, you could oversalt the fries, and increase drink sales
For dine-in customers give them a " unlimited fries ", but only a tiny container, so they have to constantly visit the fried distribution center during their meal. But again we want to maximize the amount of cheap carbohydrates that fill our customers, so they eat less protein.