Comstock spent every summer while she was at Harvard in China, immersing herself in the country’s culture through her participation in the Harvard-Beijing Exchange and her work at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics.

“That was always Lexie’s academic persona: her passion for China,” says friend Caroline M. Vik ’10.

After graduating from Harvard, Comstock set her sights on Beijing. But job constraints led her to Shanghai, a city that she has grown to love, she says.

“They always say ‘Beijing has lots of culture and...Shanghai is really soulless—you don’t really get a feeling for China by living in Shanghai,’” Comstock says. “But I think it’s a very livable city.”

The population is very westernized and has a sizable expatriate segment—providing a ready market for cookie consumption, she says.

Shanghai is ranked fifth out of 34 Chinese cities in ease of starting a business, according to the World Bank.

“There are many more opportunities in China and a lot more risk,” says Nara Dillon, a lecturer in the East Asian Languages and Civilizations department. “Many businesses fail there. The market is very uneven—some times things fail and other times do well.”

Clifford N. Murray ’10, who took classes with Comstock in East Asian studies, says that he believes Comstock’s ability to take advantage of China’s emerging markets contributes to her success.

“In the U.S., foodie culture has evolved over the last decade, with the popularity of farmers’ markets and specialization in foods, like preserves and specialty salad dressings,” Murray says. “China is not food-obsessed in the same way. Lexie is entering a burgeoning market.”

Dillon says that even though cookies are “something that [seems] so American and foreign,” Comstock’s early success proves that there is a high demand for cookies in China.

GETTING DOWN TO BUSINESS

Comstock starts each morning bright and early at 6 a.m. She checks business emails at the breakfast table, responds to custom orders from clients, and markets Strictly Cookies through social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter.

She then pops over to the headquarters of her operation—the kitchen—to check in with her baker. Comstock rents and shares the kitchen with a sandwich company.

Vik, who visited Comstock last fall, says that Comstock’s two primary employees—a baker and delivery man—have become her “Chinese family.”

The three are “always all working, packaging things up, and joking in Chinese,” Vik says.