20 years on, East German cos find a niche in West

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Berlin: Rotkaeppchen sparkling wine. Florena Cosmetics. Spee detergent. Zetti crunchy chocolate clusters. The names may not mean much to people outside of Germany but they point to a remarkable trend in the 20 years since the Berlin Wall came down: All are familiar brands of the former Communist East that have found a niche in the West.

Many people feared it would take several decades for East to catch up with West after the wall collapsed on Nov. 9, 1989. But today, economic output of eastern Germans has surpassed 70% of that of western Germans - up from one third in 1991. And, surprisingly, some East German industries have found a market in rich and finicky cities like Frankfurt, Hamburg and Munich.

“When East Germany joined the Federal Republic of Germany, its infrastructure was completely dilapidated, their state combine companies produced products that were unfit to be sold,” said Michael Huether, the director of the German Economic Institute.

“Today the five eastern states can no longer be called an industrial wasteland.” Saxony-Anhalt-based Rotkaeppchen has become the nation’s market leader, overtaking rivals produced in Germany’s western wine-growing Rheingau region.

It has become a popular drink at restaurants and night clubs, enjoyed by both “Ossis” and “Wessis”—the nicknames for those born and raised in the east and west respectively.

Hans-Joachim Prier, 71, said he and his wife still buy some of the brands they did when living in East Germany, including Rottkaeppchen, Florena and Spee.

“We don’t buy products because they’re from the East,” Prier said. “For us, the quality has to be good, and the price has to be good. Beyond that, I don’t look much further. When the price and the quality are the same, then I take the eastern product. Lots of people do it this way.”