Custom Printed Fry Cones and Holders

What Are Fry Cones and Holders?

Fry cones and holders are hand-held paper containers for fries: a grease-resistant sheet rolled into a cone with a ketchup pocket at the top, or a firmer scoop cup with a cut-away front. Stands and trucks hand out cones; counters and delivery kitchens use cups. Both can carry your logo on the outside.

Fry Cones and Holders Sizes

Standard sizes carry no cutting charge. Any other size is quoted on request; the deli paper size chart lists what each one wraps.

Cones and Scoop Cups for Walk-Around Fries

Fry cones and holders are the hand-held side of fry service. A cone is a grease-resistant sheet rolled and glued into a point, with a folded corner at the top for ketchup. A scoop cup is a firmer paperboard cup with a curved cut-away front so the fries show and the hand finds them.

Fairs, boardwalks, stadium stands, beer gardens, food trucks and street-food windows use cones because a customer can hold one and walk. Fast-casual counters and delivery kitchens use scoop cups because they stand up in a tray or a delivery box. Both come plain or printed with your mark.

Kraft or White for a Fry Cone?

Natural kraft, as in the first and third photos, hides oil spots and suits a smokehouse, a Belgian frites stand or anything with a brown-paper feel. The grease-resistant face keeps the cone from softening in the hand, and the color goes with a single dark or white spot print.

White grease-resistant stock is the pick for full color. The second photo shows a cone covered edge to edge in a busy multicolor pattern, and only a bright white base holds that many colors cleanly. Scoop cups are bleached white as standard, with a firmer wall that stands on its own.

Black stock with white ink makes a cone look like something from a cocktail bar. It is a strong look for a brewery taproom, though oil shows as a sheen on black, so keep it for shorter holds.

Which Cone Size Holds a Large Fries?

Cones are measured by what they hold, not by inches on a flat sheet. The two standard cones and the scoop cup cover almost every portion sold at a US counter.

If the fries are loaded with cheese or gravy, choose the scoop cup. A cone is for dry fries and a dip; a sauced portion needs a flat base.

Full-Color Print on a Cone Versus a Flat Sheet

A cone is printed flat and rolled afterward, so the artwork wraps around the body and part of it ends up at the glued seam. We lay the design out so the key mark lands on the front of the rolled cone, and the proof shows the cone both flat and rolled.

One or two spot colors on kraft give a street-food look. Full color on white gives a wall-to-wall pattern like the printed sample. Scoop cups take a single centered logo on the front wall very well, because a cup does not fold and the face stays flat. Read about spot colors, repeats and coverage explained before you pick a color count.

Inks are food-safe soy and water-based, on the outside only. The inside of the cone and the cup is left plain where the fries touch.

The Sauce Corner and How It Folds

The top corner of a cone, folded down and creased, makes a small pocket that holds a squeeze of ketchup, mayo or curry sauce. It keeps the sauce off the fries until the customer wants it and spares the stand a separate dip cup.

Fold the corner before filling, press the crease with a thumb and the pocket holds its shape on grease-resistant stock. Kraft holds the crease a little better than white because it is slightly stiffer. Scoop cups do not have a sauce corner; a dip cup sits next to them in a tray.

If your stand sells a signature sauce, the corner is where it goes, and a cone printed with the sauce name next to the pocket sells more of it. Keep the pocket small; an overfilled corner drips down the outside of the cone and onto the printed face.

Scoop Cups for Trays and Delivery Boxes

A scoop cup stands on its own, which a cone cannot. That makes it the right holder for a tray that goes to a table, a drive-through bag or a delivery box, where a cone would tip and spill. The cut-away front lets the customer see the fries and reach them without tipping the cup.

The cups nest ten or twenty deep on the counter, as the fourth photo shows, and a cook fills one with a single scoop. For loaded fries, cheese fries or poutine, the cup takes the sauce without soaking because it has a firm wall and a flat base. Pair the cup with printed paper bags for fry cups on to-go orders.

Do Fry Cones Keep Fries Hot While Walking?

For the few minutes it takes to walk from the window to a bench, yes. The rolled shape holds the fries close together, and the open top lets steam out so they do not go soft. Grease-resistant stock keeps the hand clean during that walk.

Cones are not for long holds. A cone of fries in a sealed bag on a long delivery steams itself; use a scoop cup in a vented box for that order. Never put either holder in an oven or microwave to reheat.

Fill cones to order rather than ahead. A row of filled cones waiting on a stand loses crispness fast, while a stack of empty cones beside the fryer costs nothing to keep ready. The same goes for cups: fill, hand over, done.

Mistakes With Cones and Holders

Fry cones look simple, but a few choices cause trouble.

• Picking a cone for loaded fries; the sauce runs to the point and comes out the bottom.
• Printing fine detail across the seam, where it is cut off when the cone is rolled.
• Ordering small cones for a regular portion and watching the fries spill over the top.
• Storing cones flat under weight so they crush before they are opened.
• Using a cone in a delivery bag with the top closed, which steams the fries.
• Forgetting a stand for the counter, so filled cones lie on their side while they wait.

How to Order Printed Fry Cones

Printed cones and cups follow the same path as our sheets.

1. Choose small cone, large cone, scoop cup or a custom shape, and say how many of each.
2. Pick kraft, white or black stock, and tell us the color count or send a sample of the pattern you want.
3. Upload your artwork. Vector PDF, AI or EPS is best; for a one-color mark a PNG works.
4. Get a written quote within one business day and a free PDF proof showing the flat layout and the rolled cone.
5. Approve in writing. Printing takes 4 to 6 business days, and free tracked delivery to any US address takes 2 to 3 business days.

The minimum is 1,000 pieces per print run, paid by invoice after you approve. Report damage or misprints within 10 days with photos for a reprint or refund. When you are ready, send the quote form for fry cones with your portion sizes.