diff --git a/conf/distro/include/qcom-base.inc b/conf/distro/include/qcom-base.inc
index a527e964..acb8b9a2 100644
--- a/conf/distro/include/qcom-base.inc
+++ b/conf/distro/include/qcom-base.inc
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ IMAGE_CLASSES += "image_types_qcom"
 IMAGE_FSTYPES += "qcomflash"
 
 # Set a default package class to avoid surprises
-PACKAGE_CLASSES = "package_rpm"
+PACKAGE_CLASSES ?= "package_rpm"
 
 # Avoid to duplicate the rootfs tarball by generating both tar.gz/tar.xz
 IMAGE_FSTYPES:remove = "tar.gz"