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Import Products

Use Import to add multiple products in bulk and have the system assign available GTINs. This approach is ideal for on-boarding new product lines or managing large product catalogs. 

Note: Importing shipping/receiving items, such as cases? View the Import Higher Level Packaging article. 

View the video or written instructions below for step-by-step guidance.

Log in and navigate to My Products & Barcodes, click Batch Import Products.

You can download one of the following templates based on how you plan to create or manage your products:

1. Download Assigned GTINs Template
Use this template if you want the system to automatically assign available GTINs to new products.

After selecting this option:

  • Choose the GS1 Company Prefix you want to use.
  • Enter the number of products that need GTINs assigned.

2. Blank Template
Choose this template if you have already created GTINs outside of GS1 US and want to import that existing product data.

3. Download Existing Products for Update Template
Select this template if you want to update products that you’ve previously imported into the system.

When you open the template, you'll see that data has been pre-populated in several columns. Use the drop-down for certain columns to select valid values.

Note: Are you pasting information from another spreadsheet? Select "Paste as Values" to preserve the formatting of this template.

These columns require data:

Action: "Create" is pre-populated.

GS1CompanyPrefix: The GS1 Company Prefix is pre-populated.

GTIN: GTINs are pre-populated, based on the number you entered in the "How many products do you want to create?" field. GTINs are displayed in 14 digits, with two leading zeroes.

PackagingLevel: Select "Each" to indicate these are individual trade items purchased by consumers. 

Description: Enter the product description for your trading partners (as opposed to consumers). A best practice is to include: brand name, type of product, variation (color, flavor, scent, etc), and net contents. For example, “Tasty Harvest Jam Raspberry 20 oz.” There is a 200-character limit. Avoid the use of special characters, such as the pipe "|" and line breaks "CR/LF".

Desc1Language: "en" is displayed for English, which is the default selection.

BrandName: Enter the brand name you want to convey to consumers. The brand name must be consistent across products, and is case sensitive. It cannot have multiple spellings. This field is limited to 70 characters.

Brand1Language: "en" is displayed for English, which is the default selection.

Status: If you are sharing the product with consumers and trading partners, select In Use from the drop-down. If product details are still being finalized, and the products are not ready to be viewed by the marketplace, select PreMarket. After you finalize the data, and you're ready to share with the marketplace, you can change the status of these items to In Use.


Industry: "CPG" indicates Consumer Packaged Goods; General indicates "General Merchandise."


IsVariable: "N" is displayed, meaning products are not variable measure trade items.

IsPurchasable: "Y" is displayed, meaning products can be purchased by consumers.

Headings that are green-colored are required. Use the drop-down for certain columns to select valid values.

Note: Are you pasting information from another spreadsheet? Select "Paste as Values" to preserve the formatting of this template.

Action: Select "Create".

GS1CompanyPrefix: Enter the GS1 Company Prefix, as noted on your certificate.

GTIN: Enter the GTINs in 14 digits, with two leading zeroes.

Note: if you licensed a GS1 Company Prefix for GTIN-13s, enter the GTIN-13 with one leading zero.

PackagingLevel: Select "Each" to indicate these are individual trade items sold to consumers. 

Description: Enter the product description for your trading partners (as opposed to consumers). A best practice is to include: brand name, type of product, variation (color, flavor, scent, etc), and net contents. For example, “Tasty Harvest Jam Raspberry 20 oz.” There is a 200-character limit. Avoid the use of special characters, such as the pipe "|" and line breaks "CR/LF".

Desc1Language: Select "en" for English.

BrandName: Enter the brand name you want to convey to consumers. The Brand Name must be consistent across products, and is case sensitive. It cannot have multiple spellings. This field is limited to 70 characters.

Brand1Language: Select "en" for English.

Status: If you are sharing the product with consumers and trading partners, select In Use from the drop-down. If product details are still being finalized, and the products are not ready to be viewed by the marketplace, select PreMarket. At a later date, after you have finalized date and you're ready to share with the marketplace, you can change the status of these items to In Use.

Industry: "CPG" indicates Consumer Packaged Goods; General indicates "General Merchandise".

IsVariable: Select "N", meaning this product is not a variable measure trade item.

IsPurchasable: Select "Y," meaning this product can be purchased by consumers.

  1. Select the Identifier Type:
    • GS1 Company Prefix, or
    • All GS1 US GTINs
  2. If you select GS1 Company Prefix, choose the specific prefix you want to update.
  3. Select the GTIN status (or statuses) and the packaging level you want to update.
  4. Download the template and make your updates.

To understand which product details can be edited, view the How to Edit and Update Product Information article.

Click the Import/Modify Products tab. You can drag and drop the file into the gray upload box, or click Browse Files. Locate the updated file on your computer and click “Open.” The file name displays in the File Input field. Click the Import Products button.

At the bottom of the Import screen, "Complete" will display in the Status column when the file has been processed. Click the Refresh Table button every minute or so after you submit the file to update the Status.

The # Processed column displays the number of records that were processed. The # Successful column displays the number of records that were imported.
The # Errors displays any records that had errors and were not processed.

If you see a number in the # Errors column, this indicates how many products in your upload file were not imported.

Click the file name to open the results file. The system adds three additional columns to this file and displays error messages in Column B.

To correct the errors:

  1. Review the error messages listed in the results file.
  2. Make the necessary changes in the original update file you submitted—not in the results file.
  3. Before saving the update file, remove any rows that were successfully imported during the first upload.
  4. Resubmit the update file once your corrections are complete. You do not need to rename the file.

Below are the most common import errors. To view a list of ALL import errors, view the Product Import User Guide, Appendix B.

  • A Value is missing for all rows in the file: To resolve this error, open the “update” file on your computer. Scroll down to the row to where the value is missing. For example, In Use may be missing in the Status column. Enter this value, remove all the other rows, save the update file, and resubmit.
  • GTINs must be 14 digits and numeric: GTIN-12s must be entered in the update file as 14 digits, with two leading zeros serving as filler digits. The GTIN is typically stored as 14 digits in other external systems. For example: 00196618007309. To resolve this error, open the update file, and enter the two leading zeros in the GTIN column for all products listed. Are the two zeros disappearing after you move to the next cell? Then the cell format in this file has been changed from “Text." Select the column and change all the cells and change the format back to "Text.” This will ensure that the two leading zeros display in front of each of these GTIN-12s. Alternatively, you can also type an apostrophe (which is to the left of the “Enter” key) in front of each GTIN for it to accept the two leading zeros in the 14-digit format.
  • The GTIN with a purchasable product must start with a zero: You have entered a higher level packaging item, and have entered a GTIN-14 in the GTIN column. However, you must select “N” in the IsPurchasable column to indicate that this product is for shipping purposes only.

Yes. Select the GS1 Company Prefix under the Download an Assigned GTINs Template. The number of available GTINs is ​displayed in parentheses next to each​ GS1 Company Prefix.​

Type the "Available" number in the How many products do you want to create? field, and click the Download Template button. The template will provide a list of all available GTINs that can be assigned, based on the quantity you entered.

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