Global LTS provides professional packaging translation services for UK businesses selling products in international markets. We translate ingredients labels, packaging artwork, regulatory copy, instructions for use, and product descriptions into 120+ languages, combining native-speaking translators with an in-house multilingual DTP team who reintegrate the translated text directly into your design files. ISO 17100:2015 certified. Get in touch for a free quote.
When it comes to getting your packaging translated, the first step is to finalise your packaging in English.
You need to ensure you have enough physical space on the packaging to accommodate the translated copy. Text volume often changes during translation. For instance, English to Spanish translation can increase the text by 20%.
Also, to achieve quick translation delivery, ensure that the English text is finalised, adding changes to the source text during the translation process will prolong the project.
The second step is to find a reliable and professional translation service agency.
Make sure you do your research to ensure that the provider offers high-quality translations at a reasonable price and has ISO-certified processes.
A good translation agency should also have experience in packaging translation as well as a team of expert translators with an understanding of the industry and your target market.
Ask for examples of their past work and get references from other companies who have used their services.
Once the product translation project is in progress, there might be questions for translators about specific terms and approaches. Ensure you’re available for these and can lead the translation team in your desired direction.
Provide your chosen packaging translation agency with clear instructions on what needs to be translated, including any images or illustrations that are included in the packaging.
If you have product videos, training videos, product demos, and product brochures, do provide these as well. The extra context will help translators with creating accurate packaging translations for you.
Additionally, you may need to explain the concept behind your product or service so that they can properly convey the meaning in all the languages.
And, if your product has a brand-specific style of language, make sure you pass this on to the translators so they can adjust their work accordingly. This will help ensure that your message reaches the right audience.
To make the job even more efficient, we recommend you send us your design files in their native formats such as InDesign. This way, manually pasting translated text will no longer be necessary and the chances of mistakes can be significantly minimized.
Our experienced multilingual DTP team will typeset and finalise the files, and you will receive ready-to-print packaging translation.
When translating your product’s packaging, it is important to be mindful of incomplete sentences, as these can lead to confusion and misunderstanding.
We’ve seen in the past project, where our clients tried using machine translation, that they’ve missed out entire sentences from their descriptions.
We’ve also seen situations where additional text was added in during machine translations. This is not necessarily an issue but results in the target text deviating from the English source text.
It is crucial to keep the context in mind when translating your product’s packaging or labels.
Translating product packaging usually has little text. This creates a situation where translators do not have a lot of context for the words they work with.
Translating a phrase or sentence out of context can often lead to misunderstandings and misrepresentations of the product, resulting in customer confusion and dissatisfaction.
Therefore, it’s important to make sure that your chosen translation agency has full access to all the necessary information about your product so that they can ensure an accurate understanding of the source material before beginning the translation process.
Different product sectors have specific translation requirements beyond converting words — your translators need to understand the regulatory context and terminology conventions of your industry.
Food packaging translation must comply with local food labelling regulations, including allergen declarations, nutritional information formats, and mandatory language requirements for the target country. In EU markets, Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on food information to consumers sets out specific requirements for language and content. A translator working on food labels needs to understand this framework, not just the language.
Cosmetic packaging typically requires INCI (International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients) nomenclature for ingredients lists — these are standardised Latin/English terms that must appear in a specific format regardless of the target language. Other elements, such as usage instructions, warnings, and marketing copy, are translated into the local language. Our translators are experienced with the distinction between regulated INCI terms and translatable content.
Pharmaceutical packaging and medical device labelling are among the most tightly regulated in any sector. Instructions for use, warnings, contraindications, and dosage information must be translated with complete accuracy and reviewed against the regulatory requirements of the target market. For medical devices, EU MDR and equivalent frameworks specify what information must appear and in which languages. See our medical translation services for more detail.
Electronics packaging typically includes safety warnings, regulatory marks (CE, FCC, RoHS), brief product descriptions, and instructions references. Many of these have standardised phrasing in each target language — using the correct conventional wording matters for both compliance and consumer trust.
In many markets, translating product packaging is not optional — it is a legal requirement. The specific obligations vary by country and product category, but the principle is consistent: products sold in a country must present key information in the official language of that country.
Key regulatory frameworks that affect UK businesses selling internationally include:
EU market: Post-Brexit, UK businesses exporting to EU member states must comply with EU labelling regulations in the official language(s) of each member state. Food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices each have sector-specific requirements.
Bilingual markets: Countries such as Canada (English and French), Belgium (French, Dutch, and German), and Switzerland (German, French, Italian, and Romansh) require packaging in multiple official languages simultaneously, which has direct implications for available space and DTP layout.
Gulf and Middle East markets: Arabic is required on packaging sold in GCC countries, and right-to-left layout requirements apply.
We advise clients on the language requirements for their target markets as part of the briefing process, and flag any regulatory considerations before translation begins.
Hiring a professional translation agency, such as Global LTS, for your packaging translation has several key benefits.
Firstly agencies specialising in product translations will know and understand how to design and create labels and instructions in different languages, allowing them to create accurate and effective translations. We can also manage all files formats including InDesign translation.
Secondly, our translators are often well-versed in the regulations of various countries, so they know what is acceptable in a given language and target markets.
Do you want to sell your product in other countries?
We can help! Our business translation services will ensure that your product packaging is translated accurately and appropriately for the international market.
With our help, and with our retail translation expertise, you can conquer new markets and increase your sales. We know the importance of accurate translations, so you can be sure that your product will be represented well in any country.
Contact us today to get started on your project!
Category: Packaging translation
Description: Translation of product ingredients labels
Clients: The Grown Up Chocolate Company
Source Language: English
Target Languages: German
In this case, the client needed to translate text for their product labels. They were worried about using the correct terminology for the ingredients labels.
We provided a translator who was experienced with ingredients labels translations, he knew what the commonly used terms were in the market.
Category: Marketing translation
Description: Packaging Text Proofreading
Clients: Waken Mouthcare
Source Language: English
Target Languages: Polish, Portuguese, Slovak and Czech
Client has provided us with a draft translation done with machine translation and internal resources.
Our translators have reviewed the text and corrected all the errors, missing words and unified the text, so all languages reflected the English source text accurately and was fit for the local markets.
Category: Marketing
Description: Packaging translation
Clients: Toxic Creative Agency
Source Languages: English
Target Languages: French, Spanish, German
The agency end client on this project was a manufacturer of pens that had produced a new calligraphy gift set. They needed to translate all of the copy on the packaging into the target languages, along with an instruction manual.
The packaging featured some simple descriptions, such as the title “Calligraphy Gift Set” and a list of contents (“Contains 4 calligraphy pens, 12 assorted colour ink cartridges” etc) which nevertheless needed to be translated exactly so that it would read naturally, as if written in the native language.
Our marketing translators used their skills to deliver exactly the right words. We also provided translations of the maintenance instructions, again using native language translators to achieve a perfect result that would not jar with the reader.
In many markets, yes. Food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices are all subject to labelling regulations that require key information to appear in the official language of the country where the product is sold. EU regulations, for example, require food product labels to be in the official language(s) of the member state where the product is marketed. We advise on target market requirements as part of every packaging translation project.
We work with InDesign (.indd and .idml), Illustrator (.ai), PDF, and most other standard design file formats. We recommend supplying InDesign files in .idml format wherever possible — this allows our DTP team to reintegrate translated text directly into your artwork and deliver files ready for print, without manual copy-pasting or reformatting on your side.
Most European languages expand 15–30% when translated from English, which can cause text overflow in fixed-size packaging designs. Our DTP team manages this as part of the typesetting process — adjusting text size, spacing, and layout within the design to accommodate the translated content while preserving the original design intent. We flag any cases where the expansion requires a significant layout change before proceeding.
Standard product packaging translation does not require certification. Certified translation is typically required for official documents such as legal contracts, certificates, and identity documents. Packaging translation requires accuracy and regulatory awareness, but not the sworn or certified format. If you are unsure which applies to your project, contact us and we will advise.
We cover over 120 languages. Below are the most frequently requested languages: