Linking Single Units & Bulk Packs to One Inventory: Red Bull Example (1 Can vs. Tray of 12)

[Candyking]

Hey all,

I'm setting up a product structure and could use some advice on inventory logic.

Let’s say I’m selling Red Bull — customers can buy:

• 1 single can

• A tray of 12 cans

I want both variants to pull from the same inventory. So if someone buys a tray of 12, the system should subtract 12 single cans from the inventory. Similarly, if someone buys just one, it should subtract 1. Makes sense, right?

Here’s the challenge:

• I don’t want to manually manage separate inventories for each variant

• I want to avoid overselling

• Ideally, both the single and tray variants should stay live until stock runs out

I’m wondering:

• Has anyone set this up on Shopify?

• Any apps or tools you’d recommend for syncing the inventory like this?

I feel like this setup must be common for anyone selling drinks, candy, cosmetics, etc. in both retail and bulk formats — would love to hear how you're solving it.

Thanks!

[Candyking]

Thanks for the tips — super helpful! 🙏

Just to clarify though: I’m actually trying to avoid creating a new SKU for the tray. I’d like to stick with my existing single-can SKU (e.g., REDBULL-CAN) and just have the tray as a variant (with quantity = 12), not as a separate product.

So ideally:

• 1 product

• 2 variants:

  • 1 can

  • 12 cans (tray)

• Both pulling from the same inventory of single cans

• If someone orders 1 tray, it subtracts 12 from the stock of REDBULL-CAN

• No new SKU or separate product needed

Do you know if this is possible in Shopify (maybe with an app) while still keeping everything under one product page?

Thanks again!

[BundleSync]

Hi

No we don't create new bundle products - that is the way Shopify Bundle app does it. 

Bundle Sync only lets you add components to existing variations. We didn't add the way Shopify app does it as don't think it is user friendly.

So in your case you would bundle the 12 pack within our app. This won't change anything on Shopify. To then actually add the components to your variation you click the Create Bundles button. 

Perhaps we need to rename some of the options to make it less confusing.

The other point to note is we require a SKU on all variations for mapping purposes even if they are just a placeholder which would be the case for the 12 pack.

Regards

Sam

[Candyking]

Hi Sam,

Thanks for the clarification — I really appreciate the quick replies.

I gave the app a try, but unfortunately it’s not working properly on my end. It’s very slow to load, and it doesn’t seem to sync correctly to my store. I’ve followed the steps as outlined, but nothing is showing up or updating as expected.

Could you let me know if this is a known issue or if there’s something specific I need to check on my side?

[BundleSync]

Hi

You can bundle the 12 pack up and use the single can as the main inventory source for its inventory calculation.

Our Bundleup app allows you to set up bundles and we then update your other products in the background to keep inventory calculated correctly. 

In your case we would recommend our new app called Bundle Sync as it uses the new Shopify native bundles functionality. The way it functions is you also define your bundles in our app but instead of us updating bundles we create them within your Shopify products and Shopify then does all the inventory management. So your 12 pack available quantity will be calculated by Shopify based on how much stock you have of your single can SKU. Or you can use a different inventory source for both the single and 12 pack but shouldn't be necessary.

The difference in our apps is that Bundle Sync will set products up so when a customer goes through checkout they will also see the component list of the bundle unlike Bundleup method that only shows the bundle as order line.

Check out our guides: https://help.mysync.io/hc/en-us/articles/12153420147471-BundleSync-Guide

If you need help in setting this up please message us.

Regards

Sam

[Candyking]

Hi Sam,

Thanks for the detailed explanation — super helpful! I had a look at the BundleSync guide you linked, and from what I can see, it looks like it creates a new product for the bundle setup.

However, in my case, I don’t want a new product at all. I want to keep everything under one existing product, with the tray just being a variant (e.g., 12-pack) of the original single-can product. So:

• No separate product page for the tray

• No new SKU

• Just a quantity-based variant (1 can vs. 12 cans)

• Both pulling inventory from the same source (single can SKU)

Is that something your app supports? Or does it always require creating a new product for the bundle?

[ProfitLabsHQ]

Hi @Candyking,

I completely understand your requirement — you need an inventory sync solution for multipacks, which is a super common setup for drinks, snacks, cosmetics, and other similar products.

I'm really happy to say that Profit Bundles app can do exactly what you want. It lets you link products like single units and multipacks to a shared inventory — so you don’t have to manually manage each variant, and it prevents overselling.

Let me explain with your Red Bull example:

You could set up:

• Single Can as one product

• Tray of 12 Cans as another product

Both would pull stock from the same inventory. When a customer buys a tray, the app will subtract 12 cans from the shared stock. When someone buys just one, it subtracts 1 can. The system automatically syncs the inventory in real-time — no manual adjustments needed.

This way:

• Both variants stay live until stock runs out

• You avoid overselling

• You don’t have to split inventory between single and multipack products

Here’s the guide to set up multipacks using the Profit Bundles app.

[Easify-Jolie]

Hi @Candyking 

You might want to try Easify Inventory Sync — a no-code tool that lets you link single units and bundles to share the same inventory. If someone buys a tray, it auto-deducts the right number of units. No manual tracking, no overselling. Here's how it works:

1. Create your product with 2 variants: 1 can, 1 tray (12 cans)

2. Set Up Bundle Groups: Use the app to create Bundle groups that connect your tray with your single can. Here’s how to set up a bundle group for your product

• Master Product: 1 tray (12 cans) variant
• Component Product: 1 can with the Quantity per Bundle set to 12

3. How It Works:

• The inventory for your tray variants will be automatically calculated based on the single can’s inventory.
• When 1 tray variant is purchased, the inventory of single box will be reduced by 12. The app will then recalculate the available quantities for your tray variants based on the updated single can inventory, ensuring accurate inventory tracking.

This app is straightforward, and I believe it will work well for you. Reach out to Easify if you need any assistance! 🤗