Barcodes for Beer
Most beer products in Australia (and worldwide) have barcodes on their labels. Barcodes are required so that retailers can keep track of their inventory easily, and to simplify the sales process. We have been selling barcodes to customers in Australia and worldwide for many years, and many of our customers are and have been Breweries, Beer distributors, and companies that specialize in beer products.
Barcodes for Beer products can be purchased below – if you purchase “Barcode Packages” below you will receive EAN-13 barcodes that are suitable for use on all food and beverage products (including beers), in Australia and worldwide. For more information about barcodes for beer products please see the FAQ’s at the bottom of this page.
FAQ’s about Barcodes for Beer Products
What type of barcode do I need for beer products?
Beer in Australia (and most parts of the world) usually have a 13 digit “EAN-13” barcode on them. You can purchase this type of barcode above, and receive it by email instantly.
The EAN-13 barcodes we sell are globally unique barcodes that comply with the standardised retail barcoding system used in Australia and worldwide. Our barcodes are compliant with all retail barcoding software and barcode scanners, both in Australia and worldwide.
How many barcodes do I need for my beer products?
Generally speaking, you need a unique barcode number for each of your different retail products (this includes your different product variations – e.g. different craft beer flavours or sizes). If your product is for sale both individually (e.g. individual bottles) as well as in multi-unit sets (e.g. a 6-pack of beers), then you will need one barcode for the bottle and a different barcode for the 6-pack.
You definitely need a different barcode for each product when the price changes. If the price is the same (across all the product variations) then you might get away with using the same barcode number on all the product variations. This depends a bit on which retail stores you are selling your products in – the larger retail stores in particular might require a different barcode for each product variation (especially if they do stocktaking automatically, instead of manually).
What type of barcode do I need for the outer delivery boxes for beer?
You may need to put an ITF-14 barcode (a 14 digit Shipping Code) onto the delivery boxes that contain your beer products- please discuss this with your retailer’s to find out if they require this. ITF-14 barcodes are 14 digits long, and are based on the 13 digit EAN barcode that goes on the beer labels or packaging.
They are scanned when each delivery carton enters the warehouse/storage area, so that your retailers know how many beer products there are inside each box (this helps them to keep track of the remaining stock thats in their warehouse, and to know when they are running low on a particular product and need to order more). Usually you will need one ITF-14 barcode for each EAN-13 barcode that you have .You can purchase an ITF-14 barcode here if you need one.
Do we need to give you any product information?
No you do not. All you need to do is to buy the barcodes you need below on our website and pay by credit card. You will receive your barcodes automatically by email as soon as we receive your payment. The barcodes will simply be a globally unique sequence of 13 digits, encoded into a barcode image (the vertical black bars and white spaces).
No product information will be encoded into the barcodes – your barcodes and products will only be linked together once you give them to your retailers, and they enter the information into their inventory system (after that, when the barcode is scanned, the product/price information will appear on the retailer’s checkout screen).
How do we use our barcodes?
For information on how to use your barcodes please see this page.
Do we need to register the barcodes in a database?
No you do not. You can just allocate the barcodes to your beer, and get them printed onto the labels, and then start using the barcodes immediately. There is no compulsory (or comprehensive) barcode database for beer products – or for any other retail product – in Australia or worldwide.
There are several general barcode databases online (where all types of retail products – food, beverages, clothes etc – can be listed), but none of these databases are complete. One of the best ones is the International Barcodes Database. If you purchase “EAN-13 Barcode Packages” (above) you will be able to register your barcodes for free on that database. Registration is an optional service, it is not compulsory. For more information about barcode registration click here.
Can we purchase a roll of sticky barcode labels from you?
Yes you can. We can send you a roll of barcode labels (via courier) for you to stick onto your existing packaging. This can be a good option if your labels were printed before you got a barcode (or if the barcode that was printed on the labels is not scanning correctly for some reason). You can purchase barcode labels here.
