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A stock-keeping unit is a single product, generally a combination of a product variety and a pack size. SKU is commonly pronounced as a word, like “skew”.

For example, Yeo Valley have four different SKUs for their natural yoghurt product: a 1kg pot, a 500g pot, a 150g pot, and a 4 × 120g multipack. They’re all the same yoghurt inside, but they’re four different SKUs.

SKUs tend to have unique codes, which are then referenced in brands’ own systems and in retailers’ product databases. These aren’t generally consumer-facing, although they might show up on order summaries for direct-to-consumer brands.