Generate unique Stock Keeping Unit codes for your products and variants — then export as CSV for bulk upload to Shopify, Etsy, or your inventory system.
What Is a SKU? (Quick Answer)
A SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) is your own internal shorthand for every product and variant you sell. It's typically 8–12 alphanumeric characters that encode details like product type, size, colour, or scent. Unlike UPC barcodes, SKUs are created by you and unique to your business. Consistent SKUs unlock accurate inventory counts, faster picking, and better sales reporting.
Track these SKUs in real time. Craftybase syncs your SKUs across Etsy, Shopify and more — so stock levels update automatically as you sell.
Choose your pattern. Decide which elements you want in every SKU — product code, colour or
size, and a running attribute.
Set character length and separator. Hyphens (-) keep SKUs readable and are e-commerce-safe, but underscores, pipes,
slashes or colons all work too. Choose a character length that's short enough to scan fast and fit on small tags but
long enough to be unique.
Enter product details. Type the main product name (e.g. HANDCREAM), then add up to three variant attributes such as
LAVENDER, 100ML, TWIN-PACK. Use abbreviations you'll recognise at a glance.
Hit Generate SKU. Each click produces a unique SKU string in the results table. Modify any field and re-generate
until the format feels right; duplicates are automatically skipped.
Export as CSV. Click Export as CSV to download the whole list for bulk uploads to Shopify, Etsy or your inventory system.
Put them to work. Paste the codes into Craftybase (or your platform of choice) and assign them to products.
Consistent SKUs unlock accurate reporting, faster picking, and zero mix-ups at shipping time.
Why Unique SKUs Matter
A Stock-Keeping Unit (SKU) is your own shorthand for every product and variant you sell. Because no two SKUs are alike, they act as the
single source of truth across purchasing, production, sales channels and accounting. With a clean SKU system you can:
Spot stock at a glance. Search or scan a code and know exactly which colour, size or recipe batch you're holding.
Prevent fulfilment errors. Unique SKUs remove guesswork at picking and packing, cutting refunds and bad reviews.
Automate re-ordering.Inventory tools like Craftybase pair each SKU with real-time counts, so low-stock alerts and purchase orders
fire off automatically.
Unlock granular reporting. When every sale is tagged to a distinct code, profit and velocity reports drill right down to the variant
level — crucial for small-batch makers deciding what to scale.
Stay platform-agnostic. Whether you're on Shopify, Faire or a wholesale spreadsheet, consistent SKUs keep data in sync when you expand channels.
SKU Format Examples by Niche
There's no single "right" SKU format, but the best ones follow a predictable pattern: Category – Product – Variant – Size. Here are examples for common maker niches to get you started:
Candle Making
Encode the wax type, scent, and container size so you can tell variants apart at a glance.
Product
SKU
Breakdown
Soy candle, Lavender, 8 oz
CND-SOY-LAV-8OZ
Category-Wax-Scent-Size
Beeswax taper, Unscented
CND-BEE-UNS-TAP
Category-Wax-Scent-Style
Wax melt, Cinnamon, 6-pack
MLT-SOY-CIN-6PK
Category-Wax-Scent-Pack
Soap Making
Include the soap base, scent, and weight. If you sell both bars and liquid soap, lead with the form.
Product
SKU
Breakdown
Cold-process bar, Oatmeal, 4 oz
BAR-CP-OAT-4OZ
Form-Process-Scent-Weight
Liquid soap, Tea Tree, 250 mL
LIQ-HM-TEA-250
Form-Process-Scent-Volume
Shampoo bar, Rosemary
BAR-SH-ROS
Form-Type-Scent
Jewellery & Accessories
Encode the material, style, and finish so variants like "gold vs silver" are instantly distinguishable.
Product
SKU
Breakdown
Sterling silver hoop earrings, Small
EAR-SS-HOP-SM
Type-Material-Style-Size
Gold-fill pendant, Leaf
PEN-GF-LEA
Type-Material-Design
Polymer clay stud, Floral, Blue
STD-PC-FLO-BLU
Type-Material-Design-Colour
Baking & Food
Lead with the product category, then flavour and size. Keep SKUs short enough to fit on small labels.
Product
SKU
Breakdown
Sourdough loaf, Plain, Large
BRD-SD-PLN-LG
Category-Style-Flavour-Size
Chocolate cupcake, Dozen
CUP-CHO-12
Category-Flavour-Qty
Granola, Honey Almond, 12 oz
GRA-HON-ALM-12
Category-Flavour-Variant-Size
Cosmetics & Skincare
Encode the product type, key ingredient, and size. This helps distinguish products that look similar on the shelf.
Product
SKU
Breakdown
Lip balm, Vanilla, 0.15 oz
LIP-VAN-015
Type-Scent-Size
Face serum, Vitamin C, 1 oz
SER-VITC-1OZ
Type-Ingredient-Size
Body butter, Lavender, 8 oz
BUT-LAV-8OZ
Type-Scent-Size
Managing dozens of SKUs across multiple sales channels?Craftybase keeps every SKU, stock count, and cost synced across Etsy, Shopify, and your own records — so you never oversell or lose track of inventory.
Aim for 8–12 characters. Shorter SKUs print clearly on small tags and are faster to type. But don't go so short that you can't tell products apart. A good test: can you identify the product from the SKU alone, without looking it up?
Avoid Confusing Characters
Skip the letters O and I — they look too much like 0 and 1 on labels and in spreadsheets. Avoid spaces and special characters like #, &, or accented letters, which can cause import errors on marketplaces.
Never Start with Zero
Excel and Google Sheets strip leading zeros unless cells are formatted as text. Start SKUs with a letter to avoid this common headache.
Use the Same Format Everywhere
Pick one SKU format and use it across every sales channel — Etsy, Shopify, craft fairs, wholesale orders.
Mismatched SKUs across channels are the fastest way to end up with wrong stock counts and overselling.
Never Reuse a Retired SKU
When you discontinue a product, retire the SKU — don't recycle it. Reusing a code corrupts your historical sales data and can trigger duplicate-SKU errors on marketplaces.
SKU vs UPC vs Barcode: What's the Difference?
It's easy to confuse SKUs with other identifiers. Here's how they compare:
Machine reading of any underlying code (SKU, UPC, lot number)
Visual pattern (lines or squares) scannable by devices; carries data but is not the data itself
Pro tip: Pair your SKUs with lot numbers to create full traceability from raw materials through to sale — essential for quality control and regulatory compliance.
Who Should Use This SKU Generator?
This tool is built for any maker who sells physical products and needs a consistent way to identify them. Specifically:
Candle makers managing dozens of scent-and-size combinations across Etsy, Shopify, and craft fairs — who need a quick way to assign unique codes before their next restock.
Soap makers tracking cold-process bars, liquid soap, and bath bombs where small variations (scent, weight, batch) each need their own identifier.
Jewellery makers with large catalogues of earrings, necklaces, and bracelets in different materials and finishes that look similar in photos but need distinct codes for fulfilment.
Bakers and food producers listing baked goods on multiple platforms and needing SKUs that match across every sales channel and inventory spreadsheet.
Cosmetics and skincare makers formulating serums, balms, and lip products in multiple sizes — especially those preparing for wholesale where SKU consistency is non-negotiable.
Any maker growing beyond a handful of products who's tired of manually typing codes into spreadsheets and wants a faster starting point.
If you want to go beyond generating codes and actually track stock levels, costs, and sales against each SKU, Craftybase handles it automatically across your entire product line.
SKU Generator FAQs
A SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) is a unique identifier used by businesses to track inventory. It typically contains alphanumeric characters that represent details such as product type, size, color, or other distinguishing features. Having clear, consistent SKUs helps ensure accurate inventory management and streamlined order fulfillment.
SKUs allow you to quickly identify specific products in your inventory, making it easier to manage stock levels, track sales performance, and avoid mix-ups. They're especially helpful if you sell variations of the same product (e.g., different sizes or colors) across multiple sales channels like Etsy, Shopify, or your own website. Craftybase can track your SKUs across all sales channels automatically.
There's no strict rule, but most sellers prefer 8-12 characters for readability and consistency. Longer SKUs can capture more product information but may be harder to manage. The Craftybase SKU Generator can help you strike the right balance between detail and simplicity.
Yes. You're free to edit your SKUs at any time, although it's best to finalize a consistent SKU format early to avoid confusion. If you sell on multiple platforms, remember to update the SKUs everywhere to maintain consistency and accurate product tracking.
No. While both SKUs and barcodes/UPCs uniquely identify items, SKUs are internal and typically created by the business. Barcodes or UPCs are standardized codes recognised by scanners and are often issued by external organisations. Craftybase's SKU Generator focuses on helping you create internal SKUs for inventory management.
Use letters A-Z and numbers 0-9. Dashes (-) or underscores (_) are safe separators. Avoid spaces and special characters such as #, &, /, or accented letters, and consider skipping easily confused letters like O and I.
Shopify caps SKU strings at 16 characters and recommends 4-8 for readability. Etsy and Amazon do not set strict limits but best practice is to stay under 40 characters; most sellers keep SKUs in the 8-12 character range. Learn more about using SKUs on Etsy.
Yes. Each product variant needs a unique SKU across every marketplace to prevent duplicate-SKU errors and keep inventory counts and analytics accurate.
Absolutely. Any alphanumeric SKU can be encoded into a barcode such as Code-128 or a QR code using online generators or label-printing software; the underlying SKU text remains unchanged.
No. Retire the code instead. Reusing an SKU can corrupt historical sales data and trigger duplicate-SKU conflicts on marketplaces.
Both are technically safe, but dashes tend to print and scan more clearly on labels. Avoid other separators like spaces, slashes, or periods, which can cause import or URL encoding issues.
Yes. Excel and Google Sheets strip leading zeros unless the cells are formatted as text or with a custom number format. Format columns before import or avoid placing zeros at the start of the SKU or prefix the code with a non-zero character to keep the zeros intact.
Now track every SKU in real time
Craftybase syncs your SKUs across Etsy, Shopify and more — so inventory levels update automatically as you sell. No more spreadsheets, no more overselling, no more guesswork.
We ♥ to help small manufacturers just like you to become more successful. Please join our newsletter to receive regular updates and actionable tips on how to take your maker business to the next level!