diff --git a/setup.cfg b/setup.cfg
index c626f9566..f3737b48e 100644
--- a/setup.cfg
+++ b/setup.cfg
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ setup_requires =
     murmurhash>=0.28.0,<1.1.0
     thinc>=7.1.1,<7.2.0
 install_requires =
+    setuptools
     numpy>=1.15.0
     murmurhash>=0.28.0,<1.1.0
     cymem>=2.0.2,<2.1.0