diff --git a/package/syslog-ng/syslog-ng.mk b/package/syslog-ng/syslog-ng.mk
index 241522b704..b6b5fad7da 100644
--- a/package/syslog-ng/syslog-ng.mk
+++ b/package/syslog-ng/syslog-ng.mk
@@ -113,7 +113,7 @@ endef
 # By default syslog-ng installs a .service that requires a config file at
 # /etc/default, so provide one with the default values.
 define SYSLOG_NG_INSTALL_INIT_SYSTEMD
-	mkdir $(TARGET_DIR)/usr/lib/systemd/system/syslog-ng@.service.d
+	mkdir -p $(TARGET_DIR)/usr/lib/systemd/system/syslog-ng@.service.d
 	printf '[Install]\nDefaultInstance=default\n' \
 		>$(TARGET_DIR)/usr/lib/systemd/system/syslog-ng@.service.d/buildroot-default-instance.conf
 endef