The objective of this report is to present preliminary findings of a consumer survey analysing the purchase behaviour towards regionally and environmentally friendly produced food in general and especially for food of nature conservation from the Elbe-Valley in Lower Saxony. The research was undertaken in June 1999 at three localities at and near the Elbe-Valley in Lower Saxony. The ongoing data analysis includes cross tabulations, factor analysis, regression, cluster - and conjoint analysis. The main findings at this stage are : • Regionally produced food is bought out of preference by the majority of the sample . • The Elbe-Valley, known by nearly 80 % of the interviewees, seems to have a quite positive image . • Interviewees from Hamburg, Luneburg and the Elbe-Valley indicated preference and 'willingness to pay more' for food from the Elbe-Valley, the last especially if it is food of nature conservation. • Concerning the point of sale for regionally produced food, the majority of the sample showed acceptance of the idea of a mini-market in co-operation with shopping centres as well as of a mobile sale in rural areas.