Not doing it correctly can cost a lot, however
Clean, green, natural, fresh, safe – we hear these words all the time and they continue to resonate in the Chinese market.
Local Chinese ‘daigou’ (buying agents) invented a new occupation in transporting packages of Australian-made baby formula, vitamins and other products in ever-growing numbers. Despite Chinese Government changing regulations, the trade continued. What price is the health of your family and child to a Chinese?
There has never been such a transformational opportunity for Australian producers to carve new markets. Nevertheless, competition is fierce and brands are many (3500 brands of infant formula on Chinese shelves compared to 350 for the rest of the world!). This gives you an idea of the challenge.
Cross-border e-commerce opened up new channels for even small producers. The key to succeeding is to get the message out in Chinese translation, social media, labelling, website, marketing materials all have to be correct and culturally appropriate. Brands must be developed and protected in Chinese Language to strike the right note and be memorable. The wrong image on a brochure can spell doom, as can a great brand name that, unfortunately, turned out not to be yours!
One of the most frequent translations we do – inexpensive and important for quality and export purposes – are product labels. Certified translations from Chinese to English in particular for dairy, wine, seafood, fruit and meat.
It doesn’t have to cost a fortune to develop some key information in Chinese, but it is important to be strategic and to get it right or it certainly can cost in rejections and lost opportunities.