06 Apr 2017
Cosmetic Dentistry booms in Brazil – Lessons for Localization.
Healthcare
Translation and localization for Life Sciences in Brazil.
Brazilians have always taken great pride in their personal appearance, and for many years now have been early and passionate adopters of cosmetic procedures, as well as providing a vast market for companies producing cosmetics, fragrances, and personal grooming products. We have long enjoyed a reputation for promoting a ‘body beautiful’ culture, and now we see that achieving the perfect winning smile is becoming increasingly important and popular.
Recently we read two interesting press releases reflecting the growing opportunities for companies providing dental solutions in Brazil, as well as some interesting takeaways for the wider healthcare industry.
Align Technologies, the manufacturers of the award winning Invisilign invisible orthodontics announced they have purchased their Brazilian Distributor Align Technology Do Brasil LTDA in Sao Paulo. The Sao Paulo office will be Align’s first office in South America from where they will spearhead their expansion plans. Their VP for the Americas is quoted as saying:
“Brazil is estimated to have approximately 1.4 million new orthodontic case starts each year and employs nearly 20% of world’s dentists. As the world’s second largest market for cosmetic interventions, Brazil represents a tremendous growth potential for Align. The Latin America region is an emerging market for Align and this acquisition will help establish our leadership position in the region and support our long-term growth strategy,”
Marketing plays a key role
In related news, iData Research, a leading market research firm for the medical device industry released a series of reports focussing specifically on the market for dental implants in Brazil, as well as the manufacturers who meet the growing demand. According to iData Research, The Brazil dental implant fixtures and final abutments market is expected to reach $489 million by 2023, and is currently experiencing double digit growth. iData Research goes on to report that the market is split between major international brands who have high costs but who position and sell their dental and orthodontic products at a premium price, and smaller, local, less expensive solutions, who provide generic products which sell at a lower price, and are often attractive to the average cost-conscious Brazilian. Non Brazilian companies are also faced with costs for local tariffs, import costs and other set-up expenses in Brazil.
Their reports go on to talk about how CAD/ CAM suppliers are facilitating growth and choice in the market by providing increasingly cheap and sophisticated solutions to provide dental implants.
Translation and Localization Lessons for Brazil
So what can we glean from these findings?
- Well, firstly, that products associated with health, fitness and beauty have a massive market potential in Brazil.
- To be successful in selling here, companies obviously need to translate their content and messaging into Brazilian Portuguese; English will not work.
- Therefore, we will see increased demand for experienced medical translators who have the requisite experience in translating the wide range of documentation and regulatory documentation required when launching and marketing medical device products, as well as being able to translate the marketing content which will help promote them.
- Some of these medical translators will also need to have experience in the Software and CAD/ CAM arena to support the new solutions being used. This combination may not be easy to find.
- In addition, we will see a general need for more and more translators to work on a wide range of health and fitness content for Brazil, as this is a sector that continues to boom.
- Accuracy and Domain expertise in Life Sciences and Health is crucial, otherwise products will not be approved for sale locally, even the slightest simple mistake can be hugely expensive and damaging to a brand.
- In addition, companies need to differentiate themselves through their marketing messaging, not always an easy thing to do, when you are competing with generic, cheaper providers.
- It is important that companies work closely with their local marketing teams and translation service providers to accurately define and convey their key differentiators and how to get these across through the brand.
So to summarize, the increase in cosmetic dentistry and other products will bring both opportunities and challenges for manufacturers and for their translation partners.
TextTrans has been working in this space for many years now, and we have the teams and experience to support these types of requirements. If you would like to talk to us about your needs, please contact us here.
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