The role of innovations as an engine for European competitiveness is largely accepted as a part of the EU Lisbon strategy, and the Lead Market Initiative (LMI) has been seen as an innovative platform for advancing the knowledge-based bio-economy in Europe. Our research questions are; first, what are the main challenges and opportunities of the LMI on bio-based products in comparison to other EU initiatives such as JTIs and CIP? Second, does the LMI address those challenges adequately, and what areas of improvement can be identified? Methodologically, we use a qualitative case study approach with data from both documentary sources and in-depth elite interviews. Based on our results, the strong demand-side characteristics of LMI, such as public procurement, standardization and legislation, can accelerate the time-to-market in case of the bio-based products and services. However, the speed of diffusion is dependent on overcoming the problems of the critical-mass market creation and fragmented supply-side of bio-based industry. Ensuring coherence and coordination of activities between policy-makers in the Member states, EU Commission services, businesses and other stakeholders is also crucial to the success of LMI for bio-based products.