diff --git a/src/main/cpp/main.cc b/src/main/cpp/main.cc
index 26036e5..02b7714 100644
--- a/src/main/cpp/main.cc
+++ b/src/main/cpp/main.cc
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@
 
 int main(int argc, const char *argv[]) {
   std::unique_ptr<blaze::StartupOptions> startup_options(
-      new blaze::StartupOptions(blaze::BAZEL_PRODUCT_NAME));
+      new blaze::StartupOptions());
   return blaze::Main(argc, argv,
                      new blaze::OptionProcessor(std::move(startup_options)));
 }
diff --git a/src/main/cpp/startup_options.cc b/src/main/cpp/startup_options.cc
index b3a8afc9..5d3e9f4 100644
--- a/src/main/cpp/startup_options.cc
+++ b/src/main/cpp/startup_options.cc
@@ -33,6 +33,11 @@
 
 using std::vector;
 
+StartupOptions::StartupOptions() :
+  StartupOptions("Bazel") {
+  Init();
+}
+
 StartupOptions::StartupOptions(const string& product_name) :
   product_name(product_name) {
   Init();
diff --git a/src/main/cpp/startup_options.h b/src/main/cpp/startup_options.h
index a4012bd..cc77f2e 100644
--- a/src/main/cpp/startup_options.h
+++ b/src/main/cpp/startup_options.h
@@ -25,8 +25,6 @@
 
 using std::string;
 
-constexpr char BAZEL_PRODUCT_NAME[] = "Bazel";
-
 // This class holds the parsed startup options for Blaze.
 // These options and their defaults must be kept in sync with those in
 // src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/runtime/BlazeServerStartupOptions.java.
@@ -39,7 +37,7 @@
 // names also don't conform to the style guide.
 class StartupOptions {
  public:
-  explicit StartupOptions(const string& product_name);
+  StartupOptions();
   virtual ~StartupOptions();
 
   // Parses a single argument, either from the command line or from the .blazerc
@@ -199,6 +197,12 @@
   // Invocation policy proto. May be NULL.
   const char* invocation_policy;
 
+ protected:
+  // Constructor for subclasses only so that site-specific extensions of this
+  // class can override the product name.  The product_name must be the
+  // capitalized version of the name, as in "Bazel".
+  explicit StartupOptions(const string& product_name);
+
  private:
   string host_javabase;