Whether you’ve jetted off on your travels or you’ve simply picked up a weekly staple from the shelves at your local supermarket, chances are you’ll have seen some form of packaging translation in your time. Practically every item of food we buy today will have some form of translated text on the packaging and so getting it right is vital. So, whether you opt for the best translation services UK companies have to offer, or you’re considering forming an in-house translation team, we’re looking into why accurate translation is important within the food and beverage industry.
Health & Safety
If there was ever a reason to translate your products accurately, it’s health and safety. Providing accurate, informative and understandable information about any ingredients or health warnings is a must. For your own conscience if not for legal and regulatory reasons, providing full and in-depth information about what is included within a product will ensure that no customers suffer allergic reactions, eat something that their beliefs may not agree with or simply end up tasting something they know they don’t like. The health of consumers is the main focus and by ensuring that translation is as accurate as possible, you can avoid any potential issues in the future.
Globalisation Success
By offering accurate translation regardless of where your product was originally produced, you can help your company’s globalisation efforts considerably. By being able to effectively, efficiently and accurately portray the same branding styles across even your international products, you can help your potential and returning customers feel welcomed, cherished and thus help produce a better ROI. This goes far beyond the packaging, too. Your marketing efforts also need to be translated accurately and where possible, ensure that all language is kept localised and relevant to the target audience in your product’s overseas destination.
What You Need To Consider
While translation does offer health and safety and globalisation benefits, how do you know if you’re doing it correctly? Beyond just having the text translated properly, you also need to consider the following:
- Legal Requirements
Different countries have different legal requirements for their packaging and marketing for food and beverages, so you need to ensure that you fully understand what these are and how to adjust your product as required. You could opt for local help or an experienced translation company, but make sure that every legal requirement is fulfilled.
- The Product Name
Does the name of your product translate well? Could your product have a seemingly innocent meaning in the UK, but something far more rude or unusual abroad? In these cases, it may be worth changing the name of your brand for globalisation to prevent offence or any other hiccups along the way.
- Have You Checked Everything?
Finally, have you checked and double checked every part of your packaging? In fact, triple check it. Have someone who speaks the language read through every element of your product’s packaging and marketing. Do they think it reads well? Ensuring that everything is in order before you put it out into the world will ensure that you hit the ground running, so make sure you take the time to do precisely that.
Health and safety is a big thing in the food and beverage industry and in most cases, this will be the leading motivation for accurate translation of your packaging and marketing. Provided you check everything, ensure that everything is translated properly by locals or linguists who truly understand the language and adhering to all legal requirements, you could be globalising your product sooner than you think.
