TUTORIAL: Setting Up Product Variations

Variations make it easy to manage different versions of the same product, like soaps in various scents or bracelets in multiple finishes, without cluttering your product list. With variations, you can track inventory, recipes, and costs separately for each option, all while staying organized and in control.

We’ll Cover:

Product variations and when to use them
Creating variation attributes and values
Adding variations to an existing product
Setting individual prices and SKUs for each variation
Building variation-specific recipes

🕒 This tutorial should take approximately 20 minutes to complete.

Product variations and when to use them

If you sell products that come in different versions, say, a handmade soap bar in five scents or a necklace in silver and gold, variations will be your best friend. Instead of creating a separate product for each scent or finish, you create a single product with variations.

Each variation will have its own stock count, price, SKU, and even its own recipe. This saves time, keeps your catalog cleaner, and helps you avoid inventory headaches like overselling one version without realizing it.

In this example, we’ll walk through how to set up variations for a product called “Soap Bar” that comes in five fragrances: Lavender, Rose, Vanilla, Citrus, and Unscented.

Step-by-Step Walkthrough

Step 1: Open Your Product

Start by finding the product you want to add variations to.

In the left-hand sidebar, click Products.
From your product list, find and click on your existing product—for this example, it’s “Soap Bar”.
You’ll land on the product detail page, where you’ll see tabs for Overview, Stock, Recipes, and more.

Image: Product list with 'Soap Bar' selected

Step 2: Open the Variations Tab

Next, navigate to the Variations area of your product.

At the top of the product page, click the Variations tab.
This will take you to the section where you’ll add and manage all versions of your product.

Image: Highlighted 'Variations' tab

Step 3: Add Your First Variation

Now you’re ready to start adding a variation set.

Click the Add Variation button in the upper right.
This opens the “Add Variation” form, where you’ll define what’s different between versions.

Image: Add Variation button

Step 4: Create an Attribute

Attributes are what you’re varying, for soap, this might be Fragrance.

In the Attributes section, click Add Attribute.
A dialog will pop up.
In the Name field, type Fragrance.
Click Add Value, then type Lavender and click Add Value
Repeat this to add Rose, Vanilla, Citrus, and Unscented.
Once all fragrance options are added, click Save.

Image: Add Attribute dialog with values entered

This attribute now defines the different options your customers can choose from, and each one will be trackable separately.

Step 5: Set the variation price and Save

Let’s give our Lavender soap a price.

In the Attributes field, select your variation. In this case, we will use Lavender
In the Default Sales Price field, enter your standard selling price, for example, $7.50
Scroll down and click Save at the bottom of the form.

Craftybase will now create a row for the Lavender fragrance in your Variations list, with a unique SKU and inventory tracking for each.

Step 6: Add a Recipe to a Variation

Let’s say the Lavender soap uses a special essential oil and a purple colorant that the other versions don’t.

In the Variations table, find “Soap Bar - Lavender”.
Click the ⋯ (three-dot) menu on the right, then select Create Recipe.
The new recipe page will preload the base recipe from your original Soap Bar product.
Add Lavender Essential Oil and Purple Colorant as additional materials.
Click Save.

Image: Variation recipe form for Lavender soap

This recipe now tracks only for the Lavender version—so your costs and material usage are accurate, variant by variant.

It is a good idea to create the product's recipe by listing any common materials before creating your variation recipes. This way, you won't need to re-add the common materials between variations each time.

Wrap-Up 🎉

And that’s it! You’ve now successfully set up variations for your soap bar product. With each version managed in one tidy place, you’ll get:

Clear inventory tracking per scent or version
Accurate recipes and costings
Clean product organization that makes fulfillment and reporting much simpler

Variations are especially helpful for makers of body products, jewelry, or any product line that comes in multiple options. It’s a big step toward better inventory clarity with less busywork.

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