Google product taxonomy · 2021-09-21

Snack Foods

The Google product category ID for Snack Foods is 423. It sits under Food Items and has 18 subcategories of its own, so it is a predefined value you can send as it stands — but one of those 18 is usually the closer answer, and an interior category fits when a product genuinely spans the ones below.

Category ID: 423
Direct subcategories: 18
Categories below it in total: 20
Depth, on a branch that runs 5: 3 / 5
Others at this level: 18
Parent category: Food Items
Taxonomy version: 2021-09-21
Sent in your feed as: google_product_category

Where this sits in the taxonomy

Measured by how much sits beneath them, Snack Foods is fourth largest of the 19 categories under Food Items, with 20 categories below it. Size is not correctness — a small category is the right answer when it is the right answer — but it does tell you how much of the taxonomy you are still choosing between once you pick this branch.

Snack FoodsCereal & Granola Bars Cereal Bars

The longest route down from here runs 2 more levels, ending at Cereal Bars (543651) on level 5: Snack Foods › Cereal & Granola Bars › Cereal Bars. Most branches stop sooner than that — the figure to compare it against is the seven levels Google's taxonomy allows, not the depth of the branch next door.

Every category at the same level as Snack Foods, compared by id, direct subcategories, total categories below and how many levels each one runs.
Category	ID	Direct	Below	Levels
Food Gift Baskets	136	0	0	0
Snack Foods — this page	423	18	20	2
Condiments & Sauces	427	26	28	2
Dairy Products	428	8	8	1
Fruits & Vegetables	430	9	135	3
Grains, Rice & Cereal	431	11	11	1
Meat, Seafood & Eggs	432	3	12	2
Nuts & Seeds	433	0	0	0
Pasta & Noodles	434	0	0	0
Bakery	1876	15	15	1
Soups & Broths	2423	0	0	0
Cooking & Baking Ingredients	2660	36	39	2
Seasonings & Spices	4608	4	4	1
Candy & Chocolate	4748	0	0	0
Dips & Spreads	5740	10	10	1
Frozen Desserts & Novelties	5788	3	3	1
Tofu, Soy & Vegetarian Products	5807	5	5	1
Prepared Foods	5814	2	2	1
Candied & Chocolate Covered Fruit	6219	0	0	0

Using this value

Either form of this value goes in the google_product_category attribute: the numeric ID (423) or the full path ("Food, Beverages & Tobacco > Food Items > Snack Foods"). Both are predefined values for the same category. The ID is the sturdier of the two, because renaming any segment above this one changes the path text and leaves the number alone. Before sending it, check whether one of the 18 subcategories below fits — a narrower category groups the product with fewer, closer things.

Bear in mind that google_product_category is an optional attribute. Google assigns a category automatically, and your value is treated as a signal rather than an override. When an override actually applies.

In your feed, it looks like this

Either row below is accepted. The first is the one to send.

products.csv3 of your columns

id	title	google_product_category
SKU-1001	Your product title	423
SKU-1001	Your product title	"Food, Beverages & Tobacco > Food Items > Snack Foods"

This path contains a comma, so the cell has to be quoted: unquoted, a CSV reader splits "Food, Beverages & Tobacco > Food Items > Snack Foods" into 2 columns and the row stops lining up with its header. The numeric ID, 423, contains no comma.

What sits under Snack Foods

18 subcategories. A narrower category groups the product with fewer, closer things, so prefer one of these when it fits.

They are not the same size. Cereal & Granola Bars (5747) is the largest with 2 categories beneath it, so most of what sits under Snack Foods sits under that one name. 1 of the 18 carry subcategories of their own and the remaining 17 are leaves, which is worth knowing before you go looking for a narrower value that is not there.

Questions about Snack Foods

What is the Google product category ID for Snack Foods?

423. The full path, "Food, Beverages & Tobacco > Food Items > Snack Foods", is the same category written the other way. The ID is shorter, and renaming a segment above this one changes the path text while leaving the number alone.

Should I use Snack Foods or one of its subcategories?

Prefer a subcategory when one fits: Snack Foods has 18 directly below it, starting with Breadsticks (7159), Cereal & Granola Bars (5747), Cheese Puffs (6192), and 20 in total further down. 423 is itself a predefined value, so an interior category is not an error — it just groups the product more broadly than a subcategory would.

Where does Snack Foods sit in the taxonomy?

At level 3, under Food Items (422). The chain from the top is Food, Beverages & Tobacco → Food Items → Snack Foods. If your product does not belong under Food Items, it does not belong here either — check the level above before going deeper.

What should I use if Snack Foods is not quite right?

Look across the rest of Food Items first — there are 18 other categories at this level: Bakery (1876), Candied & Chocolate Covered Fruit (6219), Candy & Chocolate (4748), Condiments & Sauces (427), Cooking & Baking Ingredients (2660), Dairy Products (428), and 12 more. If none of them fits either, the problem is higher up: go back to Food Items (422) and pick a different branch from there rather than settling for the closest thing on this one.

How much more specific can I get than Snack Foods?

2 levels more. The longest route down from Snack Foods is Snack Foods > Cereal & Granola Bars > Cereal Bars, ending at Cereal Bars (543651) on level 5. Not every branch below Snack Foods runs that far, so the category that fits your product may stop earlier than this one does.

How big is Snack Foods compared with the categories next to it?

It is fourth largest of the 19 at its level, carrying 20 categories below it. Inside it, Cereal & Granola Bars (5747) is the biggest branch with 2 beneath it. A bigger category is not a better one — it just means more of the taxonomy is still open below you after you pick it.

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Canonical URL: https://sellersort.com/google-product-category/423-food-beverages-and-tobacco-food-items-snack-foods