It was Friday evening and Devin walked past herds of people thronging his riverside bar, all drinking beer which had been brewed in the very same place. He said, "I live on a tropical island, with my own microbrewery, wine bar and a Mexican restaurant, and I'm having the time of my life."

It all started when two Americans living in Singapore, Devin Otto Kimble and Daniel Flores, began to feel unhappy with the variety and standard of beers on offer. In order to satisfy their quest for good beer, they decided to brew their own and opened the $3.5 million Brewerkz Restaurant and Microbrewery in 1997. Today, Brewerkz has become a popular destination for seekers of great food and fresh beer, contributing the majority of S$20 million sales of its holding company in 2006.

It was not a rosy start for Brewerkz by any measure, even though the microbrewery market in Singapore in the mid 90s was still relatively untapped. Although Devin and Daniel were eager to fill an untapped space in the beer market, the Asian financial crisis and the crippling haze of 1997 were also brewing at the very same time as their launch.

However, the founders had strong faith in their product and believed that the key to a successful business was trend-spotting. In the early years, in order to remain competitive, they looked to "identify a space where there is hardly any competition and expand quickly to fill the void." They ensured that the beers served at Brewerkz were better than the average bitter sludge that turned up in most pubs and bars. Their other trademark was to provide good service; which became a top priority among Brewerkz staff. With little competition, the business model proved to be successful in the past.

The business continued to flourish and Brewerkz started to generate profits. It eventually became part of a holding company, Menu Food Drinks Group, which went on to open Café Iguana, a Mexican restaurant, in 2000 and Wine Garage, a wine bar, in 2005. Brewerkz has not looked back ever since.

After 10 years of successful operation in Singapore and with his local growth strategy well established, Devin now wonders what to brew next. What is not clear is the "where" and "how" to expand further. Should Brewerkz focus its efforts in Asia or outside? In major population centres, secondary cities or resort locations? What model should it use for expansion? Is it best to follow the path it took in Singapore, or would it be better to change its business model to the one where a stand-alone brewery located in an industrial area supports several relatively small pubs? Perhaps it could take slightly larger locations as it did at its newest site at Changi Airport's Terminal 3 and install a very small brewery at one or all of the outlets in order to promote its "authenticity" as a brewpub concept, while the majority of the beer comes from a brewery located at other premises. With the region growing at a rapid clip, and Brewerkz having proven its popularity and longevity, expansion seems to be the best way to increase shareholder value and protect the brand through diversification, but which strategy offers the best risk / return profile and growth opportunities?

When your business is part of a USD $500 billion global market that is growing at a phenomenal rate, you have much to be happy about. Tipped to touch a trillion dollars by 2010, the Beauty & Wellness industry is all about "products or services provided proactively to healthy people to make them feel healthier and look better, to slow the effects of aging, and/or to prevent diseases from happening", according to economist Paul Zane Pilzer.

Dr Theresa Chew knows this only too well. She launched Expressions International in 1989, as a one-person show that has now grown to over a 100 member staff. "When I started, I realised that a lot of people were more into losing weight rather than staying healthy," she said. "That is why I integrated wellness as part of slimming and weight management - and that has become a success".

The tourism and hospitality industry has surged with the growth in Beauty & Wellness in Singapore. Estimated at S$200 million, the business has been patronized by locals and tourists alike. In the last 3 years, demand for spa services has contributed to the rapid growth of the industry. This growth has not gone unnoticed by the Government of Singapore. The Singapore Tourism Board has taken steps to promote the Singaporean spa industry overseas.

The Expressions group has pioneered the concept of "total wellness" where looking and feeling good is a natural consequence of being healthy and fit. The group has been one of the early entrants into the market and has successfully built a strong brand identity over the years.

It strongly abides by its philosophy and vision:

• To be the leading healthy lifestyle wellness service and education provider in Asia and internationally
• To lead in healthy lifestyle and total wellness programmes, service and education
• To help individuals achieve a healthy lifestyle using natural and reliable products coupled with professional and personalised service

This three-fold philosophy coupled with their core values in customer service, excellence, hygiene, integrity, teamwork and staff welfare have helped take Expressions to a leadership position in the increasingly competitive health and wellness industry.

This has not gone unnoticed by competitors either. New competitors have added to the dynamism in the industry. At the same time, Expressions International is expanding overseas. It already has franchises in Malaysia and Indonesia and plans to expand into China, Japan, the Indian subcontinent and the Gulf Region. The challenge now for Dr Chew is how to build and grow the Expressions International brand overseas. How does it leverage its leading status in Singapore and take its Asian mystic to other parts of the world especially to the ASEAN region, Middle East, India & China?

Adam Wong smiled as he admired a strange but majestic looking fish swimming gracefully in his beautiful aquarium. He had recently bought this exotic fish, known locally as the Dragon Fish, on a farm visit to Qian Hu. Qian Hu is a Singapore company that sells exotic fish; its name translates to a thousand lakes. It started as a humble family-owned fish farm in the mid 1980s which has now evolved into an integrated "one-stop" ornamental fish service provider that carries several brands of pet accessories. The company exports over 500 varieties of ornamental fish directly to more than 65 countries and has 10 subsidiaries in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and China. Since Qian Hu's initial public offering on the Singapore Stock Exchange in the year 2000, Adam Wong had been a loyal shareholder. He received the latest annual report for the financial year 2006 and began reading it.

"Building the legacy of a thousand lakes. What exactly is this legacy?"

Adam pondered over the results as he placed the report on the table. He imagined himself in the shoes of the management and thought about what he might do to continue to drive the growth of the company. Qian Hu already has an Asian footprint but are there more markets to be tapped? Will Qian Hu fulfil its vision of being the world's number one ornamental fish and pet accessories service provider? How can Qian Hu build a legacy of a thousand lakes? While Adam reflected upon these questions, he thought about what made this business successful in the first place.

The annual report talks about Qian Hu's involvement in all aspects of the business from breeding to manufacturing and distribution of aquariums as well as retailing. The company has depended upon "4 pillars of growth":

1. Export of ornamental fish and accessories
2. Distribution of ornamental fish and accessories
3. Manufacturing of aquarium and pet accessories
4. Breeding of Dragon Fish

Each of the business segments is linked to the other creating a total value chain. The company is vertically integrated to reduce costs and ensure quality supply. Their business model is exportable, expandable and scalable. It allows Qian Hu to differentiate themselves from the rest of the competition.

When people talk about Qian Hu, it is almost certain that they will mention the company's enigmatic leader, Mr. Kenny Yap Kim Lee, or Kenny the Fish, as he likes to call himself. Kenny is the CEO and Managing Director of Qian Hu Corporation Ltd. Under his leadership, vision and passion, Qian Hu now owns 4% of the highly fragmented world market. He is responsible for initiating many systems, such as ISO certification for fish farming processes and research into the breeding of the Arowana fish. He also led the company to win numerous broad-based awards.

As a shareholder, Adam wonders if there is anything that he can suggest to Kenny the Fish that will help him develop Qian Hu further. How can his fish swim the seven seas?