Product Line

What is a Product Line?

A product line is a group of related products marketed under a single brand name and managed by the same company. Products in a product line share common characteristics, target the same market segment, and are designed to meet similar customer needs.

Product lining is different from product bundling. With bundling, different products are packaged together and sold as a single unit. In a product line, the items are designed to be sold separately (though there may be a bundling aspect as well).

Examples of product lines include Apple’s iPhone, MacBook, and iPad lines, Nike’s Air Jordan line of sneakers, and Coca-Cola’s regular Coke, Diet Coke, Coke Zero, and flavored options. Another example would be a hair care brand selling shampoo, conditioner, hair wax, and hair serum.

For businesses, product line extensions are one of the best ways to diversify their revenue streams because they spread risk and foster customer loyalty. For consumers, they enhance the shopping experience by making it easy to find products that meet their specific needs within a trusted brand.

Synonyms

• Product family
• Product range
• Brand line

Key Elements of a Product Line

Within your product catalog, one line should have items that complement and are related to each other.

Some of the key elements to consider when creating a product line include: 

Product Category and Subcategory

A product category describes the overall theme or purpose of the items within a product line. Product categories are broad and can encompass multiple subcategories, which are more specific groups of products that fall under the same category.

Examples of categories include:

• Electronics
• Clothing
• Home appliances
• Beauty and personal care
• Food and beverages

Some examples of subcategories within those respective categories would be:

• Smartphones, laptops, and tablets
• T-shirts, jeans, dresses, and activewear
• Refrigerators, washing machines, and dishwashers
• Skincare, makeup, and hair care
• Soft drinks, energy drinks, and flavored beverages

In relation to product lines, categories and subcategories help differentiate between different product types. They give customers a better understanding of what they can expect from each line.

Depending on the size of your catalog and the nature of your products, you may use categories or subcategories to define your product line. For example, if you only sell clothing, you might want to use “lines” to describe items based on the fabric, style, design, or use case (e.g., winter collection, formal wear line).

Product Range

Product range — also known as product length — refers to a company’s variety of products within a particular product line. It includes all the product variations under that line, differing in features, designs, qualities, and materials.

For example, you may offer a menswear line that includes t-shirts, button-down shirts, and jackets. These all contribute to the overall range of products in your line.

Keep in mind that “product range” can also refer to your broader product portfolio, including all the different lines and products you offer. In this context, it’s often used interchangeably with “product mix.”

Product Depth

Product line depth defines the variety of options within a single component of your product line in terms of features, sizes, colors, qualities, or price points. It indicates how deep you go into a particular product.

For example, in a women’s shoe line, product length would include all the different types of shoes (e.g., sneakers, heels, flats), while product depth would focus on the colorways and variations of each particular type of shoe (e.g., black, white, red, and blue sneakers).

Depth can also describe different technologies within a product line. For example, Apple’s MacBook Pro has multiple options with varying processor speeds, storage capacities, and graphics cards, all at different price points. That makes up the MacBook Pro’s product depth.

Types of Product Lines

Staple Product Lines

Staple product lines are essential items with consistent demand from customers. They are what you’d consider your company’s core products, and they generate most of its sales.

Lines of staple products normally have low variability in terms of features, designs, or prices. They are reliable and familiar items that customers can count on always being available.

Examples include:

• Apple’s iPhone line
• Coca-Cola’s soft drinks, including Coke, Diet Coke, and Coke Zero products
• Adidas’s sneaker line, including Stan Smith, Gazelle, and Superstar sneakers

Most businesses need to have at least one stable product line to sustain sales and customer loyalty. In the case of high-end luxury brands, however, a single line with a short product life cycle, like a fashion collection, can be profitable.

Seasonal Product Lines

Seasonal products are relevant during specific times of the year or for certain events. Companies capitalize on the seasonal demand by offering products that cater to holidays, weather changes, or special occasions.

For instance:

• Holiday decorations
• Summer apparel
• Back-to-school supplies
• Promotional products for sporting events like the Super Bowl or World Cup

Seasonal product lines are beneficial to businesses because they create additional revenue during periods of higher-than-average demand. They also give your brand personality and align it with other celebrations or traditions.

Specialty Product Lines

A specialty product caters to a particular segment of your customer base. These products usually offer unique features or high quality. More often than not, they’re priced higher than surrounding products to represent that.

Examples include:

• Luxury watches
• Sports cars
• Gourmet foods or beverages
• Specialty health supplements
• Professional-grade equipment for photography, videography, or music production

Specialty product lines can sometimes even include custom-made items. Although they may not generate as much revenue as staple product lines (due to the more niche market), they still enhance your brand’s image and reinforce its exclusivity. Done right, they can even increase the perceived value of your products.

Convenience Product Lines

These include items that consumers purchase frequently and with minimal effort. They are typically low-cost and widely available, making them easily accessible.

Examples include:

• Snacks
• Beverages
• Everyday personal care products​ like toothpaste, shampoo, and soap
• Basic household items like cleaning supplies or batteries

Convenience product lines are designed to provide quick solutions to common problems or needs. They are often heavily marketed, and companies compete fiercely to secure shelf space in grocery stores or convenience stores.

Shopping Product Lines

For customers, these products require more planning and comparison before purchase. They are typically higher in cost and are bought less frequently compared to convenience products.

Examples include:

• Electronics
• Furniture
• Clothing
• Home appliances
• Musical instruments

Shopping product lines cater to specific wants and needs, but consumers compare quality, price, and style before making a decision​​. It’s important to communicate the value of these product lines through marketing and branding efforts, as consumers may be willing to pay more for a superior product.

Unsought Product Lines

Unsought products are those that consumers do not think of buying under normal circumstances. They usually require significant marketing efforts to create demand.

For example:

• Life insurance
• Pre-planned funeral services
• Emergency repair kits
• Pest control services
• Smoke detectors

Unsought product lines often serve a crucial purpose, but aren’t top-of-mind for consumers. As such, they require targeted and persuasive marketing campaigns to make customers aware of their benefits and convince them to make a purchase.

Benefits of Product Lines for Businesses

For businesses, offering multiple product lines makes it easier to capture a larger share of the market and cater to different customer segments. This can lead to increased sales and revenue, and creates opportunities for product differentiation through varying features, prices, and designs.

By diversifying and offering more products, businesses can:

• Reach a broader audience
• Increase brand awareness, exposure, and sales revenue
• Benefit from economies of scale by producing multiple related products under one brand
• Establish themselves as a one-stop-shop for various customer needs, enhancing brand loyalty and retention
• Create upselling and cross-selling opportunities, where customers may purchase complementary products or see one that offers more value for them
• Expand into new markets and industries by leveraging their existing product lines and reputation 
• Have a more stable and diversified revenue stream, reducing the risk of relying on one product or market for success

When you launch a new product line, you can also piggyback off of the success and image of your first one. For example, if you’re a luxury brand coming out with a lower-cost brand, your existing reputation for quality and luxury will attract new customers who see it as more trustworthy and higher quality compared to other low-cost options.

Benefits of Understanding Product Lines for Consumers

For consumers, product lines offer variety and the ability to choose based on their preferences, budget, and needs. They also allow for easy comparison and the ability to upgrade or downsize within a brand.

For your customer base (and potential customers), understanding your product lines can:

• Help them navigate and find the right product for their needs
• Provide a better understanding of your brand and its values, leading to stronger brand loyalty
• Facilitate easier comparison shopping between different products and brands
• Showcase the full range of options available from a particular brand or company
• Highlight special promotions or deals they may have otherwise missed

When they have multiple options within a line, you can even use strategies like price anchoring, prestige pricing, and tiered pricing to guide them toward the product that best suits their needs. You can also improve your marketing strategies by targeting specific segments based on how well a particular product aligns with their broader goals, needs, and preferences.

Examples of Product Lines

To understand how product lines fit into the overall brand architecture, let’s look at some real-life product line examples, why they’re successful, and how they work:

1. Apple

Apple is renowned for its continuous innovation and seamless integration across its product lines. Its main product lines are:

• iPhone
• iPad
• MacBook
• Apple Watch
• AirPods

Each product line offers a few different models and configurations to cater to different market segments, from budget-conscious consumers to high-end luxury users. And each product complements the others, creating a cohesive ecosystem that enhances user experience.

This is the cornerstone of Apple’s success — iPhones are good phones, but they work even better when you also have a MacBook and Apple Watch that share your data and apps through the cloud. This allows Apple to cross-sell its products while creating a loyal customer base that is unlikely to switch even part of their technology ecosystem to another brand.

2. Nike

Nike offers a wide range of products catering to different sports and activities, allowing it to target diverse consumer segments. Additionally, customization options, such as Nike By You, allow consumers to personalize their products if they want.

The brand also​ leverages strong brand recognition and endorsements from top athletes to promote its product lines. This creates a sense of trust and reliability among consumers, who see Nike as a reputable brand that offers high-quality products for their specific needs.

Within the Nike brand, there are hundreds of product lines:

• Sports lines (e.g., football, basketball, and golf segments of the brand)
• Footwear (e.g., Air Force 1, Jordan Brand, Air Max, and Nike SB lines)
• Apparel (e.g., Nike Pro, Therma-FIT, and Dri-FIT)
• Outdoor gear (Nike ACG)
• High-end fashion collaborations (e.g., Off-White by Virgil Abloh, Nike x Sacai)
• Exclusive releases (e.g., the Cortez Kenny 1, Air Yeezy)

Nike’s product lines are segmented to cater to specific sports and activities, ensuring that each product meets the unique needs of its target audience. And the brand’s marketing strategies are integrated across different media channels, focusing on inspiration, performance, and innovation.

The idea behind this broad range is that nearly everyone on Earth can find something that they can use and wear from Nike. And its products can be as accessible or exclusive as each person wants them to be. For example, someone can buy Nike shoes for $50 in nearly any city in the world, or spend thousands of dollars on limited edition releases.

3. Unilever

Unilever is a unique example of product lines because the conglomerate leverages the strength of its individual brands while maintaining a cohesive corporate image. Rather than relying on one product line, Unilever has several popular brands, each with

Product lines include:

• Personal care brands like Dove, Axe, and Lux offering soap, shampoo, deodorant, and skincare products
• Food and beverage brands like Knorr, Hellmann’s, and Ben & Jerry’s offering soups, sauces, spreads, and ice cream
• Home care brands like Surf and Omo selling laundry detergents and cleaning products

By offering multiple product lines across different industries, Unilever can diversify its revenue streams and reduce the risk of relying on one product’s market demand. Since it already has economies of scale, it’s easier to introduce new product lines targeted at different customer segments while leveraging its existing distribution channels.

Best Practices for Product Line Management

To achieve product-market fit, expand your product catalog successfully, and maximize the sales and profitability of your products, there are a few best practices that you should keep in mind:

1. Develop a deep understanding of your target market.

Before creating a product line, you need to understand your target audience’s needs, preferences, and pain points. From there, segment them based on their differences and similarities, so you can create product lines that cater to market demands.

2. Don’t spread yourself too thin.

While diversifying your product line can be advantageous, avoid creating too many products or lines that stretch your resources and distract from your cornerstone products. Focus on quality over quantity and ensure that each product line aligns with your overall brand image and goals to avoid the negative potential impacts of SKU proliferation.

3. Develop products with a clear vision.

To effectively differentiate your products, you have to consider three things:

• How they each connect to one another
• How they serve your customers’ needs
• What makes them unique from competitors

Think long-term and create a product roadmap to ensure that each product line has a purpose within your overall business strategy.

4. Continuously monitor and analyze market trends.

Keep a pulse on industry trends, consumer behavior, and competitor strategies to stay competitive and relevant. This will also help you identify opportunities for new product lines or adjustments to existing ones to better meet market demands.

5. Cross-sell and upsell effectively.

Leverage your product lines to cross-sell complementary products and upsell customers to higher-priced options within the same line. This can lead to an increase in average order value and customer loyalty.

6. Regularly review and optimize your product line strategy.

Continuously gather customer feedback through surveys, interviews, and user testing to refine your product lines and ensure they remain relevant. Collect data through analytics tools to track the success and profitability of each line, making adjustments as needed.

From there, periodically carry out SKU rationalization to eliminate underperforming products and streamline your product line offering.

7. Facilitate strong collaboration between different departments.

Your product team should work closely with your marketing, sales, and customer support teams to ensure that all aspects of the product line are aligned. This will help you create products that are aligned with current customer needs and your sales/marketing teams can effectively promote them to your target audience.

How CPQ Helps B2B Sales Teams Sell Product Lines

CPQ (configure, price, quote) can transform your pricing process and make you more adaptable. It helps your sales team find the best configuration of products from your product line to match each customer’s specific needs, reducing the risk of human error and ensuring that you provide accurate quotes.

Beyond that, there are a few ways CPQ can specifically help your B2B sales teams sell product lines:

• Simplify complex bundles and pricing options. CPQ tools can handle complex pricing rules and discounts, making it easier for sales reps to present customers with multiple product line options without getting bogged down in tedious calculations.
• Streamline the quote process. CPQ tools can automatically generate quotes based on configured products, reducing the time and effort required by sales reps to create accurate quotes.
• Facilitate cross-selling and upselling. With guided selling and pre-defined rules, CPQ tools can recommend complementary products from different product lines to increase upselling and cross-selling opportunities during the quoting process.
• Dynamic pricing and advanced analytics. You can use CPQ tools to set up rules for dynamic pricing based on product margins, customer segments, demand, and other factors. Additionally, CPQ analytics can provide insights into which product lines are driving the most revenue and profitability, allowing your sales team to focus on selling those products.

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