Build a product catalog in ten minutes
We'll set up a small apparel catalog from scratch — a SKU pattern, two attributes, twelve variants generated in one click, and a CSV that imports into Shopify without errors. Follow along in a second tab; nothing here requires an account.
Twelve products with codes like NRD-BK-M-0001, grouped as one Shopify product with twelve variants, exported as a CSV ready to upload.
Step 1 — Set up your attributes
Attributes are the things your products vary by: colour, size, material. Each option inside them gets a short code, and those codes are what appear in your SKUs.
Use a template, or add your own
In the left sidebar, under Attributes, click + Apparel. That adds Size, Colour and Material with standard codes already filled in. There are Jewelry and Electronics templates too.
To add your own instead, type a name into Create Attribute — say Colour — then expand it and add options. Type "Black" and the code fills in as BL automatically; overwrite it with BK if you prefer.
Codes are the part that matters. They're what land in every SKU forever, so settle them now. Two or three characters, and one master list for the whole business — the classic failure is "Navy" being NV on one product and NAV on another.
Step 2 — Design the SKU pattern
The pattern is the recipe applied to every product. The blue box at the top of the sidebar shows a live preview as you build it.
Add segments, then order them
Under Add to Pattern, click + Brand, then your attributes (+ Colour, + Size), then + Number. Use the arrows on each segment to order them general to specific.
Then set three things under Settings:
- Brand code — your short identifier, e.g.
NRD. The Brand segment stays empty until you set this. - Number length — 4 is the safe default, giving you 0001–9999. Changing it later means renumbering.
- Separator — a dash is the most widely compatible.
If the sidebar shows a note about length or a leading zero, act on it now — those are the two things that cause trouble later, and they're much cheaper to fix before you have products.
Step 3 — Generate every variant at once
This is the step that replaces an afternoon of spreadsheet work.
Combine the options you're actually producing
Click Generate Variants above the table. Enter the product title once — "Nordic Hoodie" — plus a price and stock level if you have them.
Then tick the options to combine: 4 colours and 3 sizes, say. The button tells you exactly how many products it's about to create — Generate 12 variants — so there are no surprises. Click it and all twelve appear, each with a correct, unique SKU.
Why this matters for Shopify: all twelve share one product handle, so the export becomes one product with twelve variants rather than twelve unrelated products. Getting that wrong by hand is the most common import mistake there is.
Step 4 — Fill in the details that matter
Click the arrow at the left of any row to expand it. You don't need to fill in everything, but a few fields are worth the time:
| Field | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Product title | What customers see. The URL handle is generated from it automatically. |
| Retail price | Required by every platform. |
| Barcode / GTIN | Needed for Amazon, Google Shopping and retail. Kept separate from your SKU. |
| Stock | Exports with the inventory tracker set correctly, so quantities aren't silently dropped. |
| Country of origin & HS code | Only if you ship internationally — they're what customs asks for. |
The SKU chip at the top of the panel copies to your clipboard when clicked, which is handy when you're pasting codes into a supplier order.
Step 5 — Check SKU health before exporting
The meter at the bottom of the sidebar scores your whole catalog. Two numbers matter:
- Dupes — two products producing the same SKU. This breaks imports and merges inventory between different products. Click the number to filter the table down to just those.
- Missing — a product where a pattern segment can't be filled, usually an unselected attribute. Click to see them.
Aim for 100% before exporting. Duplicates almost always mean two products share every attribute — either they're genuinely the same thing, or one is missing a selection.
Step 6 — Export and import into your store
Pick the right format
- Shopify CSV — variants grouped by handle, option columns filled correctly, inventory tracker set. Upload via Products → Import.
- WooCommerce CSV — the built-in importer's schema. Upload via Products → All Products → Import.
- Simple CSV — a flat file for spreadsheets, ERPs, or anything else.
If you've selected rows or filtered the table, the menu offers to export just those — useful for uploading one collection at a time.
Do this before you close the tab: open the Export menu and choose Download backup (JSON). Your catalog lives in this browser only, so clearing site data would take it with you. The backup restores everything — products, attributes and pattern — from the same menu.
If you already have a catalog
You don't have to start from scratch. Export your products from Shopify (Products → Export) and click Import CSV in OtterLabel.
Before anything is imported you get an audit of the SKUs you already have: duplicates, missing codes, anything over 16 characters, leading zeros, and codes containing spaces. Attributes found in the file are created automatically, and your original SKUs are kept on each product for reference — so you can compare old against new before committing to a renumber.
Try it with your own products
Ten minutes start to finish, no account, and nothing leaves your browser.
Open the free SKU builderStuck on something? The feedback button in the app goes straight to the maker.