Print Barcodes with Freshly Data using Multi‑Label Barcodes

Freshly doesn't print labels itself, but you can add Freshly expiry dates to product barcode labels using a label app that reads Shopify metafields. This guide uses CTS Multi Barcode Labels (formerly Multi-Label Barcodes), a paid third-party app.

Before you start

Freshly saves the next expiry date to your products and variants when expiry display is turned on:

1. In Freshly, go to Preferences.
2. In Expiry date on storefront, check Enable display of expiry dates on product pages.
3. Click Save.

This is part of the paid Freshly plan. Freshly then keeps two metafields up to date:

• product.metafields.freshly.expiry_date : the earliest expiry date among the product's in-stock, unexpired batches, across all variants.
• variant.metafields.freshly.expiry_date : the same, for a single variant.

Use the variant version if your variants have different batches.

Set up the label

1. Install CTS Multi Barcode Labels from the Shopify App Store.
2. Assign barcodes to your products if they don't have them yet. The app has bulk barcode and SKU assignment
3. Open the app's label templates and create a new template, or copy an existing one
4. Load the sample product label to get starting Liquid code
5. Add the expiry date where you want it, for example just above the barcode image:

Exp. Date {{ variant.metafields.freshly.expiry_date | date: "%Y/%m/%d" }}

Or, for a product-level date:

Exp. Date {{ product.metafields.freshly.expiry_date | date: "%Y/%m/%d" }}

6. Save the template.
7. Select the products to print, add them to the print queue, choose your template and create the labels.

The app's own setup guides cover the rest of its options.

Batch-specific details

The expiry metafields hold only the next expiry date. If you need batch numbers or batch barcodes on labels, Freshly can also save full batch details to each variant. See Add inventory batch details to product variant metafields in Shopify. Check with the label app whether it can read JSON metafields.

For showing expiry dates on product pages, see Displaying expiry or best before dates on your storefront.

If you need help, contact us at hello@getfreshly.io.