diff --git a/guix/scripts/pack.scm b/guix/scripts/pack.scm
index 067b1227e0e8f587c3d72ab9edcd7ce8cf04c5a7..e422b3cdda79510e7f027c11cde7e2e9f0e69be5 100644
--- a/guix/scripts/pack.scm
+++ b/guix/scripts/pack.scm
@@ -284,6 +284,9 @@ (define opts
              (symlinks   (assoc-ref opts 'symlinks))
              (localstatedir? (assoc-ref opts 'localstatedir?)))
         (with-store store
+          ;; Set the build options before we do anything else.
+          (set-build-options-from-command-line store opts)
+
           (run-with-store store
             (mlet* %store-monad ((profile (profile-derivation
                                            (packages->manifest packages)))