diff --git a/api/alembic/versions/009_add_gin_index_upc_variants.py b/api/alembic/versions/009_add_gin_index_upc_variants.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..82f1e97
--- /dev/null
+++ b/api/alembic/versions/009_add_gin_index_upc_variants.py
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+"""Add GIN index on upc_variants and alter column to JSONB.
+
+Revision ID: 009_add_gin_index_upc_variants
+Revises: 008_create_domain_tables
+Create Date: 2026-04-14
+"""
+
+import sqlalchemy as sa
+from alembic import op
+
+revision = "009_add_gin_index_upc_variants"
+down_revision = "008_create_domain_tables"
+branch_labels = None
+depends_on = None
+
+
+def upgrade() -> None:
+    op.alter_column(
+        "normalized_products",
+        "upc_variants",
+        type_=sa.dialects.postgresql.JSONB(),
+        postgresql_using="upc_variants::jsonb",
+    )
+    op.create_index(
+        "ix_normalized_products_upc_variants_gin",
+        "normalized_products",
+        ["upc_variants"],
+        postgresql_using="gin",
+    )
+
+
+def downgrade() -> None:
+    op.drop_index("ix_normalized_products_upc_variants_gin", table_name="normalized_products")
+    op.alter_column(
+        "normalized_products",
+        "upc_variants",
+        type_=sa.JSON(),
+    )
diff --git a/common/src/cartsnitch_common/models/product.py b/common/src/cartsnitch_common/models/product.py
index 215e57e..61e0134 100644
--- a/common/src/cartsnitch_common/models/product.py
+++ b/common/src/cartsnitch_common/models/product.py
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING
 
 from sqlalchemy import JSON, String
+from sqlalchemy.dialects.postgresql import JSONB
 from sqlalchemy.orm import Mapped, mapped_column, relationship
 
 from cartsnitch_common.constants import ProductCategory, SizeUnit
@@ -26,7 +27,9 @@ class NormalizedProduct(UUIDPrimaryKeyMixin, TimestampMixin, Base):
     brand: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(String(200))
     size: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(String(50))
     size_unit: Mapped[SizeUnit | None] = mapped_column(String(10))
-    upc_variants: Mapped[list[str] | None] = mapped_column(JSON, default=list)
+    upc_variants: Mapped[list[str] | None] = mapped_column(
+        JSON().with_variant(JSONB(), "postgresql"), default=list
+    )
 
     # Relationships
     purchase_items: Mapped[list["PurchaseItem"]] = relationship(back_populates="normalized_product")
diff --git a/receiptwitness/src/receiptwitness/pipeline/normalization.py b/receiptwitness/src/receiptwitness/pipeline/normalization.py
index c1fade9..a714020 100644
--- a/receiptwitness/src/receiptwitness/pipeline/normalization.py
+++ b/receiptwitness/src/receiptwitness/pipeline/normalization.py
@@ -5,12 +5,14 @@ Matches products across retailers by:
 2. Fuzzy name matching via token-based Jaccard similarity (lower confidence)
 """
 
+import json
 import re
 from dataclasses import dataclass
 from enum import StrEnum
 
 from cartsnitch_common.models.product import NormalizedProduct
-from sqlalchemy import select
+from sqlalchemy import cast, func, select, String
+from sqlalchemy.dialects.postgresql import JSONB
 from sqlalchemy.orm import Session
 
 
@@ -96,17 +98,24 @@ def jaccard_similarity(a: str, b: str) -> float:
 def match_by_upc(session: Session, upc: str) -> MatchResult | None:
     """Find a normalized product by exact UPC match.
 
-    Loads products with upc_variants and checks membership in Python
-    for cross-database compatibility (works on both PostgreSQL and SQLite).
+    Uses PostgreSQL JSONB containment (@>) for production efficiency.
+    Falls back to LIKE on SQLite for test compatibility.
     """
-    # TODO: Use PostgreSQL JSON containment query (@>) for production.
-    # Current approach loads all products into memory — acceptable for tests
-    # and small datasets, but will not scale.
-    stmt = select(NormalizedProduct).where(NormalizedProduct.upc_variants.is_not(None))
-    products = session.execute(stmt).scalars().all()
-    for product in products:
-        if product.upc_variants and upc in product.upc_variants:
-            return MatchResult(product=product, confidence=1.0, method=MatchMethod.UPC)
+    dialect_name = session.bind.dialect.name if session.bind else "default"
+    if dialect_name == "postgresql":
+        stmt = select(NormalizedProduct).where(
+            cast(NormalizedProduct.upc_variants, JSONB).op("@>")(
+                func.cast(json.dumps([upc]), JSONB)
+            )
+        )
+    else:
+        stmt = select(NormalizedProduct).where(
+            NormalizedProduct.upc_variants.is_not(None),
+            cast(NormalizedProduct.upc_variants, String).contains(upc),
+        )
+    product = session.execute(stmt).scalars().first()
+    if product:
+        return MatchResult(product=product, confidence=1.0, method=MatchMethod.UPC)
     return None