Leite’s Culinaria, a beloved food blog known for its trusted recipes and storytelling, was heavily reliant on advertising revenue when it first partnered with Admiral in 2020. As changing algorithms, privacy trends, and adblocking tools created monetization roadblocks, Leite’s sought a flexible, low-lift path to diversify revenue and give loyal readers more ways to support the site.
As an independent publisher with limited internal resources, Leite’s Culinaria needed a monetization strategy that wouldn’t require a team of developers or a high-risk investment. They were already feeling the effects of:
On top of that, they were uncertain how readers would respond to a paid subscription model, especially in a space where content is often expected to be free.
Leite’s Culinaria partnered with Admiral to implement both Transact (Admiral’s subscription and membership solution) and Adblock Recovery, unlocking dual revenue paths with a single platform. The partnership allowed Leite’s to:
With Admiral acting as an extension of their team, Leite’s was able to move fast, test ideas, and find the right balance of monetization and user experience.
Leite’s subscription model began with a simple value proposition for adblock users: If you’d like to continue using adblock, consider subscribing to support the site. As that model gained traction, Leite’s decided to expand the offer to all visitors—positioning subscriptions as a way to enjoy a cleaner, ad-free reading experience while supporting the content they love.
Working directly with Leite’s ad provider, Admiral helped implement logic that disables ads entirely for subscribed visitors, ensuring they receive the experience they were promised.
Since their first year partnering with Admiral, Leite’s Culinaria has built a growing base of paid subscribers and added resilience to their revenue model:
The dual approach of recovering ad revenue and offering an ad-free subscription tier has empowered Leite’s to engage a broader swath of their audience—without compromising user experience.
Founder David Leite created a personal, heartfelt video explaining why subscriptions matter to the future of his site: Watch the video.
"Admiral has become more than a vendor—they’re a trusted partner and an extension of our team. I know they’re always representing the best interests of my business, whether it's maximizing adblock recovery or opening up new revenue streams we hadn’t considered before."
– David Leite, Founder, Leite's Culinaria
Leite’s Culinaria is exploring how to deepen engagement with its readers using Admiral’s Convert module—bringing journey shaping into the mix to guide visitors to content and experiences they’ll love.
As ad revenues continue to fluctuate, Leite’s remains committed to giving visitors more ways to support independent food journalism—and Admiral continues to be a key partner in that mission.