# 296 - From Wall Street to Food Street: Sid Banthiya's Transformative Journey into Consumer Brands

- Show: [People of Packaging](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging)
- Published: 2024-11-15
- Length: 36m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2024-11-15-296-from-wall-street-to-food-street-sid-banthiyas-transformative-journey-into-co
- Listen: https://encase.substack.com/p/296-from-wall-street-to-food-street

## Summary

Sid Banthiya, an advisor and investor with executive experience at Blue Apron and Milk Bar, discusses how packaging intersects with finance, operations, and marketing in consumer brands. He explains that while direct-to-consumer channels offer full control over the unboxing experience and data, wholesale retail requires packaging that fits specific planograms and shelf constraints, often limiting brand control. Banthiya highlights the financial impact of packaging on customer experience, such as Blue Apron's ice block failures, and the importance of omnichannel consistency for brands like Milk Bar and Pop-up Grocer.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2024-11-15-296-from-wall-street-to-food-street-sid-banthiyas-transformative-journey-into-co#t=0) Introduction: Sid Banthiya's background in finance and consumer brands
- [3:41](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2024-11-15-296-from-wall-street-to-food-street-sid-banthiyas-transformative-journey-into-co#t=221) Transition from Investment Banking to Executive Roles at Blue Apron and Milk Bar
- [9:42](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2024-11-15-296-from-wall-street-to-food-street-sid-banthiyas-transformative-journey-into-co#t=582) Packaging's Impact on Finance, Operations, and Marketing Departments
- [16:18](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2024-11-15-296-from-wall-street-to-food-street-sid-banthiyas-transformative-journey-into-co#t=978) Evaluating Companies: Packaging's Role in Financial Performance and Customer Experience
- [23:24](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2024-11-15-296-from-wall-street-to-food-street-sid-banthiyas-transformative-journey-into-co#t=1404) Control in DTC vs. Wholesale: Planograms, Shelf Fit, and Retailer Relationships
- [31:24](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2024-11-15-296-from-wall-street-to-food-street-sid-banthiyas-transformative-journey-into-co#t=1884) Current Investments: Pop-up Grocer and Tacombi's Omnichannel Strategies

## Topics

- [Packaging design](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/packaging-design)
- [Direct-to-consumer & e-commerce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/direct-to-consumer)
- [Retail, wholesale & distribution](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/retail-and-distribution)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies, companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Trayak (tool)
- Blue Apron (company)
- Milk Bar (company)
- Slack (product)
- Christina Tosi (other)
- Pop-up Grocer (company)
- Tacombi (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Advice Line with Christina Tosi of Milk Bar](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2026-06-11-advice-line-with-christina-tosi-of-milk-bar) (How I Built This)
- [What It Really Takes To Build a Food Business: Part 2](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2024-10-25-what-it-really-takes-to-build-a-food-business-part-2) (How I Built This)
- [8: Packaging](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/thoroughly-considered/2016-01-28-8-packaging) (Thoroughly Considered)
- [#233 - Ask-Me-Anything: Marketing with Janice Greenwald](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2026-01-27-233-ask-me-anything-marketing-with-janice-greenwald) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [#260 - Packaging Changes as you Grow with Evie's Snacks and Belmark](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2026-08-04-260-packaging-changes-as-you-grow-with-evies-snacks-and-belmark) (The Startup CPG Podcast)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2024-11-15-296-from-wall-street-to-food-street-sid-banthiyas-transformative-journey-into-co. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to People of Packaging.