diff --git a/custom_components/shopping_list_manager/data/catalog_loader.py b/custom_components/shopping_list_manager/data/catalog_loader.py
index 8b13789..2f168aa 100644
--- a/custom_components/shopping_list_manager/data/catalog_loader.py
+++ b/custom_components/shopping_list_manager/data/catalog_loader.py
@@ -1 +1,61 @@
 
+"""Product catalog loader for Shopping List Manager."""
+import json
+import logging
+import os
+from typing import List, Dict, Any
+
+_LOGGER = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+
+def load_product_catalog(component_path: str, country_code: str = "NZ") -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
+    """Load product catalog from JSON file.
+    
+    Args:
+        component_path: Path to the component directory
+        country_code: Country code (e.g., 'NZ', 'AU', 'US')
+    
+    Returns:
+        List of product dictionaries
+    """
+    # Try country-specific catalog first
+    if country_code:
+        country_file = os.path.join(
+            component_path, "data", f"products_catalog_{country_code.lower()}.json"
+        )
+        if os.path.exists(country_file):
+            catalog_file = country_file
+            _LOGGER.debug("Using country-specific product catalog: %s", country_code)
+        else:
+            _LOGGER.warning(
+                "No country-specific catalog found for %s",
+                country_code
+            )
+            return []
+    else:
+        return []
+    
+    try:
+        with open(catalog_file, "r", encoding="utf-8") as f:
+            data = json.load(f)
+            
+        _LOGGER.info(
+            "Loaded product catalog version %s for region %s",
+            data.get("version", "unknown"),
+            data.get("region", "default")
+        )
+        
+        products = data.get("products", [])
+        _LOGGER.info("Loaded %d products from catalog", len(products))
+        
+        return products
+        
+    except FileNotFoundError:
+        _LOGGER.error("Product catalog file not found: %s", catalog_file)
+        return []
+    except json.JSONDecodeError as err:
+        _LOGGER.error("Failed to parse product catalog file: %s", err)
+        return []
+    except Exception as err:
+        _LOGGER.error("Unexpected error loading product catalog: %s", err)
+        return []