Bottling a New Kind of Happy, Four Friends Just Launched a New Beverage That Feels Just Right

Spend a few minutes talking with co-founder Matt McCollum, co-founder Hunter Johnson, and founding partner Joe Prieto, and it’s obvious they aren’t chasing a trend. They’re drawing on decades of experience, betting that relationships still matter, and building a company the same way Texans have always built successful businesses: by knowing their craft and knowing their people.

The story starts in Dallas, where McCollum and Johnson grew up across the street from each other. They remained friends through Texas Tech before their careers took them in different directions. McCollum headed to California, where he built a career in consumer packaged goods and helped grow Gringo Bandito Hot Sauce from a regional brand into thousands of retail locations around the world. Johnson stayed in Texas, becoming the kind of entrepreneur who never seemed content building just one thing: food trucks, beverage production, spirits, manufacturing. If it involved solving problems and creating products, he wanted to figure it out.

Years later, the conversations shifted from “Wouldn’t it be cool if…” to “Why aren’t we doing this?” “We realized we had all the pieces,” McCollum told me. “Hunter understood formulation and manufacturing. I understood marketing and consumer products. We finally had enough experience to stop talking and start building.”

One of those pieces was Michel Montmorency, the California-based creative director and co-founder McCollum met while working in the branding world. With more than a decade of experience developing packaging and visual identities for consumer brands, Montmorency became the creative force behind Contento. While Johnson obsessed over formulations and production, Montmorency focused on every visual detail - from the frosted bottle and textured label to the warm, inviting branding that gives the product its distinctive personality before it’s ever opened.

The fourth member of the founding team is Joe Prieto, who oversees operations, strategy, and infrastructure. Prieto saw an opportunity to help build a company that offered adults a different kind of social experience while creating a business designed for long-term growth.

“I wanted there to be a real alternative,” Prieto said. “If we can leave something behind that genuinely helps people and brings them together, that’s success.”

The product they built reflects each founder’s expertise.

Instead of another brightly colored can fighting for attention in an already crowded cooler, Johnson pushed for a premium 750-milliliter bottle meant to be shared around a table. The result is Contento Sangria Vibes, a zero-alcohol, zero-sugar, hemp-derived THC beverage designed to capture the ritual of enjoying a drink with friends - without the alcohol.

That philosophy runs deeper than packaging.

After spending years tending bar while building his marketing career, McCollum says he learned people rarely came in looking for alcohol alone.

“They’re looking for connection,” he said. “The drink is just part of the ritual.”

The founders aren’t trying to build the company overnight. While many startups chase viral moments and massive advertising budgets, Contento has taken a slower road - driving from liquor store to liquor store across North Texas, meeting owners face-to-face, earning shelf space one conversation at a time.

“It’s still a relationship business,” Johnson said simply. Maybe that’s the most Texas part of the story. The bottle may be new, the category may be new, but the philosophy feels familiar: work hard, treat people right, and let your reputation travel farther than your advertising. As more people rethink what it means to unwind, Contento is betting that the next great social ritual won’t be built around alcohol at all. It will be built around good company, great conversation, and a bottle that’s meant to be shared. Judging by the reception so far, that’s a bet worth watching.​

Contento Sangria Vibes is available at select retailers across North Texas, including Goody Goody, Kindred Wine & Spirits, Lakewood Medallion Liquors, 73rd Wine & Spirits, Liquor Depot locations, and other independent retailers. Learn more at DrinkContento.com.

By Paul Salfen