The fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989 thrilled most East Germans - though not manufacturers, whose goods became suddenly uncompetitive. But 20 years on, reports Lucy Hooker, some former East German brands are going strong.

Madeline Achterberg still harbours a fondness for many aspects of life in the old East Germany, especially the food, even though she wasn't even born in 1989.

"These things have a special spirit to them. They have a feeling of telling stories and Christmas," she says. "They have a story behind them."

Her family lives in Munich now, but when they go back, they return with bags bulging. ..

... Erika Mendel, a 70-year-old retired engineer from Berlin, says she tried some of the Western brands on offer and found the quality poor.

She buys the GDR washing powder she's always used, and cosmetics, liqueurs and many foodstuffs. Her husband drinks the East German brand of beer he has always drunk.

"I know it was always good and is still good now," she says...