Three companies, three very different IP playbooks. A top-10 global dairy brand patents individual probiotic strains and prints the story on packaging to justify a premium. A food-traceability startup patents its core process but keeps its actual signature method a trade secret, refreshed yearly to catch counterfeits. A local kopi-brewing startup can't patent its process at all, so recipe, hardware tweaks and a registered trademark do the heavy lifting instead.

Despite the size gap, the panel lands on the same warning: IP gets treated as a box to tick, filed and forgotten, instead of an asset that needs an active go-to-market plan. Getting granted is the easy part. Figuring out whether that patent should drive pricing, unlock licensing revenue, or protect a supply chain is the part founders skip.

For anyone weighing whether to patent, trademark, or just keep quiet about how something is made, the panel's breakdown of costs, timelines and trade-offs is a useful gut check.

Guests:

• Dr Eugene Ho, Director of Research and Intellectual Property, Inner Mongolia Mengniu Dairy
• Loh Jian Yuan, Chief Operating Officer, Kopi Near Me Pte Ltd
• Alrik Tan, Co-Chief Executive Officer and Chief Scientific Officer, Natural Trace Private Limited

What's currently sitting in a business unprotected: is it because it's not worth protecting, or because no one's gotten around to it?

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Every Singapore business that outgrows Singapore looks north. Most stop at Johor. It's close, it's familiar, and anything further feels like a different order of decision. Sabah is three hours away and does not make the shortlist.

Closing that gap is now Kevin George Ukang's job. Five months into running Invest Sabah, after sixteen years inside a regional development authority, his pitch to Singapore SMEs is narrower than you'd expect: tourism, logistics and food processing, with cold chain the loudest gap of the three.

Hotels in Kundasang sell out while travellers are still looking for beds. Cold storage runs short in a state built on perishables. Foreign investors can hold full equity, though native title land stays off the table. None of that makes Sabah easy. It makes it early.

If you've been weighing where to grow next, has Sabah ever made your list, and what would put it there?

Explore STTOS's trade and investment support and watch the full episode on YouTube for the key insights.

#TheFinancialCoconut #STTOS #Sabah #SingaporeSME #InvestSabah #BusinessExpansion

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🎧 The Financial Coconut:

Your weekly source for empowering financial knowledge and unlocking possibilities. We explore personal finance, investing, and entrepreneurship to help you build a richer life. Join us as we explore personal finance, investing and more.

Get ready to take control of your financial future and live your best life, financially wise: https://linkin.bio/thefinancialcoconut

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Manhattan Fish Market is setting its sights on a comeback by returning to what made the brand memorable in the first place: familiar flavours, accessible seafood and a distinctly Malaysian identity.

At Franchise International Malaysia 2026, CEO Deric Yeo and COO Sheikh Imran Iskandar shared how the home-grown halal seafood chain is rediscovering its original DNA while adapting to changing consumer habits. That means bringing back much-loved recipes, introducing Malaysian-inspired flavours and expanding through smaller kiosk and shop-in-shop formats designed for delivery, convenience and lower franchise entry costs.

The brand, which once operated across 16 countries, still maintains a presence in markets including Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, the Maldives, Myanmar and Jordan. Its strategy is clear: strengthen the Malaysian market first, prove the model, then grow into surrounding regions.

For aspiring franchisees, the lesson is equally important. International expansion is not about entering every market at once. Build one successful foothold, understand local demand and let strong performance create opportunities in neighbouring countries. Manhattan Fish Market’s next chapter is about nostalgia, reinvention and disciplined growth, without losing what customers already love.

#TheFinancialCoconut #ManhattanFishMarket #Franchising

🎧 *The Financial Coconut:*

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