Farmable: new markets, entered on evidence.
Case Study . Farmable
Farmable did not localize everything everywhere and hope. They entered each new market at the smallest size that still gives a real answer, then put the money where the response justified it. Underneath, Undertow built a cycle that keeps the product localized as it changes, so nothing piles up between releases.
"Undertow is an extension of our existing team, and they have a specialized skill that allows us to focus on what we do best."
Kaye Hope, COO and Co-Founder, Farmable
Farmable makes an app for farmers, sold in English-speaking markets and across Germany, Austria, Spain, Latin America, Italy, France and Poland.
How markets are added: smallest useful test first
What we work on: the product, plus the content around it
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The problem with entering a market
Farmable was handling localization on the side, the way most growing tech companies do. Each translation happened when someone asked for it, market by market, with no standard process underneath.
That holds up until you want to grow. Adding a market is not one translation job, it is a decision about how much to invest before you know anything. Localize everything and you have spent a lot on a guess. Localize too little and the market never gets a fair test, so you learn nothing from it either.
And once you are in, the problem changes shape. The product keeps shipping. Every release leaves the other languages a little further behind, until somebody does a catch-up.
What got built, and in what order
A minimum viable experience for each new market
We define the smallest localized experience that still gives a market a real, credible test. Enough that a local user gets a product that speaks to them properly, not so much that the company has committed before it has evidence.
Farmable added new markets this way. Where the response justified more, the investment grew. Where it did not, the market stayed lean on purpose. That is a decision made on evidence rather than on optimism.
The code was ready. The process was not.
Farmable's team had already prepared the product for other languages. The text lived in a resource file, connected properly, so nothing had to be dug out of the code first. That part was in good shape.
What the translators did not have was context. They were writing lines without seeing where those lines appear. So we added a step: the Figma file goes to them with the text, and they can see the screen before they write for it.
What was missing was the step in between: what happens from the moment new text is ready to the moment it is live in every language. That is the part we built.
A continuous cycle, so nothing falls behind
Then we connected localization to the way the product actually ships. New and changed content moves into localization automatically, gets handled, and comes back. There is no manual catch-up before a release and no growing backlog between them.
What changed
"After Undertow localized our product, we saw a significant increase in downloads and new users, and many of them said to us that they've been waiting for the app to be available in their language."
Lara D'Agostino
Content Experience Manager, Farmable
That last part is the one worth reading twice. The users were already there. They were waiting for a version of the product they could actually use.
A repeatable way into a new market
Enter small, learn, then decide. No market needs a big commitment before it has earned one.
A product that stays localized
Releases do not leave the other languages behind, so there is no catch-up project.
Local specialists, not literal translation
A native speaker in each market handles the content, so the app reads like it was written there.
One less thing on the product team
Language stopped being something anyone had to remember before a release.
The part they did not expect
"Undertow is not just a translation service, it's like a localization consulting service."
Max Bangen, Product Manager, Farmable
The market entry decisions were the work. The translation was the easy part to buy.
What this involved
MVE
Enter and test a new market at the smallest useful size.
Continuous Localization
The product, localized in step with your releases.
Language Technology
The setup that makes the cycle run without anyone pushing it.
Questions we get asked
Grow in any language.
Thinking about a new market? Thirty minutes is enough to work out how small the first test can be.
You will leave with a clear next step whether you work with us or not.
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