Barcodes for skincare: get them from GS1 and place them right
Every product and size you sell in stores or on Amazon needs its own number. Where to get it, how many you need, and where it goes on bottles, tubes and boxes.
A skincare barcode encodes a GTIN, printed as a 12-digit UPC-A (the usual format in the US and Canada) or a 13-digit EAN-13 (used in most other countries). Get the numbers from GS1, the only official source, through the GS1 office in your country. You need one for each product, size and set, and the brand owns them, not the factory.
What a barcode really is
The bars carry one number, the Global Trade Item Number (GTIN). It points to your product record; the price sits in each retailer's own system, not in the barcode. GS1 US issues numbers as 12-digit UPC-A barcodes, and Amazon lists UPC, EAN, JAN and ISBN as the product IDs it sees most.
Why the numbers must come from GS1
- One official source. GS1 is the only official provider of GS1 GTINs and EAN/UPC barcodes.
- Amazon checks. It verifies UPCs against the GS1 database, treats numbers that do not match as invalid and removes those listings. It advises getting UPCs directly from GS1, not from third parties that sell UPC licenses.
- The brand owns them. Under GS1 rules the brand owner, the company that owns the product's specification, is normally responsible for its GTIN, wherever the product is made. So the numbers belong in your company's GS1 account, not in ours.
How to get them
- Find your GS1 office. GS1 works through local offices in over 120 countries; choose your country on the GS1 website.
- Join. Your office registers your company and assigns a company prefix, the start of all your numbers.
- Create a GTIN per product in the office's online tool, most of which are free to use, and describe each product: brand, name and size.
- Send us the numbers with your label brief, one per product and size.
How many numbers you need
| You sell | Numbers needed | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A serum and a cream | 2 | Every different product gets its own GTIN |
| The same serum in 30 mL and 50 mL | 2 | A change in declared net content needs a new GTIN |
| A gift set of three products | 1 more | A fixed set is its own trade item, and Amazon treats bundles the same way |
| A 3-pack of the same mask | 1 more | Amazon asks for a separate UPC for multi-packs |
| Shipping cases, if a retailer asks | 1 per case type | A different count per case needs a new case number |
Two changes also call for new numbers: a new brand name on the pack, and a formula change that alters the required label information in a way buyers are expected to notice.
What Amazon and retailers ask for
From Amazon's public Seller Central help pages for the US store, as of 2026:
- Most categories need a GTIN to create a new listing.
- A brand without barcodes can apply for a GTIN exemption, but not for a product that already carries a GS1 barcode.
- For Fulfillment by Amazon, since March 31, 2026, brand owners can keep using the manufacturer barcode on eligible products without Amazon stickers, while resellers must use Amazon barcodes.
- Every unit sent to FBA needs a scannable barcode that does not sit on a corner or a curve that stops it scanning.
Stores scan the barcode at the checkout and when they receive stock, and GS1 barcodes are accepted by retailers and distributors around the world. Ask each retailer for its supplier guide early: some also want a barcode on the shipping case, which needs a GTIN of its own.
Where the barcode goes
- Color. Black bars on white scan best. Use dark bars (black, dark blue or dark green) on a light background, never red or brown bars, and print the bars in one ink.
- Size. Never shrink, stretch or crop the barcode. GS1 US gives the smallest UPC-A as about 1.17 in (30 mm) wide including the clear space on both sides, with bars 0.72 in (18 mm) tall; its standard image is 1.64 by 1.15 in.
- Clear space. Keep an empty margin on the left and right, at least nine times the width of the narrowest bar.
- Boxed products. When the product is sold in a box, the barcode goes on the box, because that is what the store scans.
How we put your barcode on the artwork
You create the GTINs in your GS1 account and send them with your label brief, one for each product and size. We place the barcode on your label or box artwork, together with your logo and the label text we write for your market, and you approve the proof before anything is printed. On the proof, check that the digits under the bars match the GS1 record for that exact product and size.
Frequently asked questions
Can I buy cheap UPC codes from a reseller?
Do I need a different barcode for each size?
Does the manufacturer provide the barcodes?
Do I need barcodes if I only sell on my own website?
UPC or EAN: which one do I need?
Sources
- GS1: Ready to sell? Start with a GS1 barcode (local offices, brand owner, GTIN basics)
- GS1 GTIN Management Standard: declared net content, predefined assortment, pack or case quantity, primary brand, formulation
- GS1 US: Get your U.P.C. barcodes (GTIN and prefix pricing)
- GS1 US: Barcode placement and printing guidelines and Work with my UPC-A barcode (sizes)
- GS1 US: Guidelines for Bar Code Symbol Placement (PDF)
- Amazon Seller Central (US): Product IDs (GTINs), Valid UPCs, UPC guidelines for multi-packs, Products without a product ID, FBA barcode requirements, Product packaging requirements
- FDA: Cosmetics Labeling Guide and Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, Article 19