Liquid/JS to select different default variant (3-Pack) on product page load?

Topic summary

Goal: set the product page to default to the 3‑pack variant on initial load in Shopify’s Dawn theme.

Progress: the helper can programmatically select a specific variant, but initial attempts broke subsequent variant switching. A functional workaround was found: allow Shopify to load the first available variant, then trigger a page refresh to switch to the desired (3‑pack) variant.

Trade-offs of workaround:

  • Page appears to load twice on every visit/return to that product page.
  • Potential impact on perceived speed; otherwise, switching variants and adding to cart continue to work.

Current status: no clean/native solution provided yet; only the refresh-based workaround. The requester is open to paying if substantial work is needed. The helper proposes continuing discussion via email to refine or finalize an approach.

Open questions: is there a robust way to set a default variant in Dawn without a reload and without breaking variant selection behavior? No code snippets were shared in the thread.

Summarized with AI on December 16. AI used: gpt-5.

Hi there! Thanks so much. Hoping to have the page default to the 3 pack on initial page load!