An award-winning Welsh gin company is using a free Welsh translation service to help make the language more visible in their business.
Helo Blod is a free, fast and friendly Welsh translation and advice service to help businesses use more Welsh in their business.
Siân and Andrew Brooks, co-owners of Gower Gin, wanted to use more Welsh in their business to grow their community of gin lovers. Having first heard of the free service through social media they have been using Helo Blod to get their packaging, social media and website translated.
Gower Gin was started in September 2017, and they now have six different types of gins, all developed by making use of the botanicals found on Gower. They have won several awards including ‘Best in Wales’ in The Gin Guide Awards 2019.
Andrew Brooks, co-owner and distiller, doesn’t speak Welsh but recognised the importance of giving the product a sense of place through the language. He said: “We decided to use the Helo Blod service because we really needed help in ensuring our product names and the translations on the bottles were accurate and were using the right phrases and Helo Blod gave us that.
“Since we started using Welsh, we’ve seen much more engagement from the Welsh communities, particularly on social media and online. People email us in Welsh from time to time so that two-way communication is working really well and we know we can ask Helo Blod for help if we get stuck.”
Small and medium businesses can use the service to get translations up to 500 words per month, free of charge. Helo Blod can help with translating menus, business cards, signage, and anything else businesses might want. If businesses are already using Welsh, Helo Blod can text check up to 1,000 words each year for free.
Siân Brooks, also co-owner is learning Welsh and after a career teaching French and Spanish, language is important to her and a reason why they wanted to embrace the language in their business.
Siân said: “For us, it was vital as a Welsh company to embrace the language. It’s so important for the culture and heritage, but I think it has helped us grow our community of gin lovers.
“I really liked the fact with Helo Blod that it was a very easy service, and for business, what a fantastic thing that it’s completely free. I feel I’ve got people who care about the translations and will work with us as a company to get it absolutely right.”
Helo Blod can also send out useful resources like Ar Agor/Ar Gau /Open/Close door signs, lanyards and badges that let customers know who can speak or are learning Welsh.
Helo Blod service is part of the Welsh Government’s wider goal of doubling the daily use of the Welsh language by 2050. Helo Blod encourages all business owners, to add Cymraeg to their business in a way that is best suited to their business.
Minister for Education and Welsh Language, Jeremy Miles Minister for Welsh Language said, “Helo Blod, our free Welsh translation and advice service for businesses and charities, has helped thousands of people to use more Welsh in their daily lives.
Just using a little Welsh can help you spread your message further, turn customers into regulars and bring communities together.”
