Translation for food e-commerce sites: cultural issues beyond the public

Translating for food e-commerce sites is no easy task. Due to factors like the specificity of food, there are many difficulties to consider when translating an online food store. Every culture has its diet, which we must take into account when translating an online food store—or food e-commerce—for another market.

In this post, we explain all the points to consider to successfully translate online stores selling food products.

Regular food in one place, unknown and exotic in another

Food varies a great deal from country to country, and even between different regions. We don’t need to look far to find an example: Try ordering an Arbroath Smokie on the south coast and see how far you get.

Climate, tradition and history all play a part in the food of a particular place. For example, soya has recently entered the European food market, but in many Asian countries this has been a staple for centuries.

An example of this is tempeh, a plant-based “meat” made from fermented soya beans. It has become all the rage recently thanks to the surge in popularity of plant-based diets. In Europe, this is almost a luxury product, as it can be fairly expensive. However, in Indonesia, it is the main source of protein for poorer people, and can be found at ridiculously low prices at any street stand.

That’s why, before selling a product in a different country, we should analyse how it is consumed there. If we consider the previous example, selling tempeh dishes at a higher price in Indonesia may damage our image. Or, on the other hand, if we sell it at very low prices in Europe, our customers will suspect something is wrong.

 

Frameworks and categorisation, because cultures tend to classify things differently

This point is particularly important for food e-commerce sites wanting to sell cross-border. We must take into account the target culture when categorising in a translation for an e-commerce food website. We can’t just copy our website’s structure for another market.

Categories aren’t universal. Every culture creates its own mental brands that include (or exclude) certain concepts. So, according to authors like Lakoff, humans organise the world through metaphors and create groups or categories using consensual relationships, or mental frameworks.

 

 

This means that each human group establishes its own categories. These are not universal, and depending on the culture, metaphorical relationships that create a category will vary.

 

What is sold in online supermarkets and how is it positioned?

All of this points to one simple conclusion: sections in supermarkets are just categories and mental frameworks. So, dairy products are grouped together, and there is no individual “eggs” section (even though there are countless egg-based products). Of course, this isn’t common across cultures, and we must take this into account when translating for food e-commerce companies.

Here are a few examples:

In Japan, as sushi is an everyday dish, we are unlikely to find it at the deli or the ready-meals section; we should head to the fish counter. Korean supermarkets have an entire section dedicated to rice, whereas in Europe, we’re more likely to find it in the cereals and grains aisle. What’s more, in Korea, tea and nuts are often grouped in the same category as they are often mixed together, especially in traditional drinks like Yulmu-cha.

We don’t have to look that far from home to find similar differences. In Spain, for example, it is rare to find tobacco or medicine in supermarkets, which mostly sell food. In the UK, however, it is common to find cigarettes in supermarkets, and in Australia, they have an entire medicine section. Perhaps there would be an opportunity for an e-commerce food business that also sells medicines, for example.

 

Why is culture important when establishing a food e-commerce site?

Regardless of whether it is a drop shipping store, translation for food e-commerce sites must be carried out by professionals with deep cultural knowledge of the market where we want to sell our products. A key example of this is translation for the wine sector translation for the beer sector.

As it is so complex, we should contact an agency to provide translation services for companies in the e-commerce food industry. This way, we can be sure our online store is being translated by qualified professionals who understand the perfect food categories.

And we mustn’t forget that e-commerce in the food and beverage industry is continuously growing, and that understanding the keys to internationalisation can bring our company great success. That’s why it is best to invest in a good translation and cultural advice to launch your best version in a new market.