Improved techniques for running different flavors of a service in different host environments. Each service is defined by a service type and host environment in which the service can be run. The techniques employ a service loader for obtaining the service type and host environment data, and loading a service flavor based on the service type and host environment data. By providing a service loader that, in response to a service request, can access host environment data from an operating system, access metadata describing host environments in which service objects for an application can be run, and determine which service flavor to load based on the service type and host environment data, appropriate service flavors can be loaded onto a system while avoiding application hanging and/or errors conditions due to a mismatch between a current host environment and the host environments in which a service object can be successfully run.