“Prunes are nature’s candy.”
That’s how Allison Taylor, one of the three sisters behind Le Prunier, the Santa Monica-based skincare brand powered by California Prunes, describes the fruit that’s been part of her family’s legacy for over a century.

But for Allison, and her sisters Jacqueline and Elaine, prunes are more than just a healthy snack. They’re the foundation of a fourth-generation farming family in Sutter County, and now, the star ingredient in an award-winning beauty line that’s reshaping what it means to be a woman in agriculture—and in beauty.

Roots Run Deep: The Taylor Family Farm

The Taylor sisters were born into farming, quite literally. Their family farm in Northern California was founded in 1916 by their great-grandfather and has evolved over the decades from growing peaches, apples, walnuts, and cherries to becoming one of the largest growers of organic dried plums (California Prunes) in the world. Today, the operation spans over 1,500 acres, primarily planted with plums.

“We were raised on the farm,” says Allison. “We were in the fields, picking fruit, selling at farmers markets in eighth grade, and loading the truck ourselves at 5 a.m.”

It was their father who had the foresight in the 1980s to plant dried plums, anticipating growing demand, especially in Asian markets where prunes were seen not just as a digestive aid, but as a superfruit. That insight would eventually inspire the sisters’ venture into skincare.

The Birth of Le Prunier: From Seed to Serum

The Taylor girls often accompanied their father on eye-opening business trips overseas. “We realized at a young age how revered the dried plum was in Japan and Korea,” Allison recalls. “They were talking about using prune extracts for beauty, not just digestion.”

Those memories stuck. Years later, after careers in branding, fashion, and marketing, the sisters came together to create Le Prunier, a clean beauty brand that harnesses the antioxidant-rich power of cold-pressed plum seed oil, a byproduct once discarded by the truckload on their family farm.

“We were literally paying someone to haul away these seeds,” says Allison. “Now, that waste is our hero ingredient.”

Launched in 2018, Le Prunier made its debut with the Plum Beauty Oil—a single-ingredient facial oil that’s become a cult favorite for sensitive skin. Its natural scent, reminiscent of marzipan, almost didn’t make the cut. An advisor urged them to remove it.

“When we tried, all the antioxidants were lost. So we stuck to our gut and I’m so glad we did,” Allison says.

That instinct paid off. In 2021, the oil went viral. And today, the product line includes:

• Plum Beauty Oil: A multitasking oil for face, hair, and nails. Rich in polyphenols and essential fatty acids.
  
• Plum Screen SPF 31: A mineral sunscreen featuring their Plum Superfruit Complex, offering broad-spectrum protection.
  
• Plum Body Cream: A deeply hydrating body moisturizer that recently won an Oprah Beauty O-Ward.
  
• Midnight Mirror: A supercharged extract 18x more potent than standard plum extract, used in upcoming formulations.
  

All products are recognized by the National Eczema Association and crafted with upcycled ingredients from their farm.

Sustainability in Practice, Not Just in Branding

The Taylor family’s commitment to sustainability runs deeper than marketing copy. Long before Le Prunier, the farm had invested in systems like BioFiltro, a wastewater treatment method using worms to digest biomass and recycle water back into the orchards.

The farm has been solar powered for over 15 years, recycles all packaging, and employs both organic and conventional practices depending on the plot.

“We didn’t just want to talk about sustainability, we were raised living it,” Allison says. “So with Le Prunier, we carried that into every product we made.”

Women in Ag: Rewriting the Narrative

As women in a male-dominated industry, the Taylor sisters faced skepticism.

“People thought it was a little crazy,” Allison admits. “We were trying to launch a skincare line using prune seeds. Not exactly a mainstream idea.”

But perhaps being outsiders to the beauty industry gave them an edge. With no rigid playbook, they were free to innovate—driven by intuition, family values, and a legacy of hard work.

“I think women in agriculture are forced to be more creative,” says Allison. “We’re often not handed the same opportunities, so we build our own.”

For inspiration, she looks to her mother, who ran books and worked markets alongside their father, and her grandmother, who helped rebuild after a devastating flood in the 1950s.

“I still have a recording of an interview I did with my grandmother in seventh grade,” Allison shares. “When I need motivation, I listen to it.”

Family First, Even in Business

Working with family isn’t always easy, but for the Taylors, it’s foundational.

“We’ve had our ups and downs, of course,” says Allison. “But we trust each other. We push each other. And at the end of the day, we share a mission.”

That mission has now come full circle. Last year, Le Prunier launched its first bag of organic prunes—a nod to the original fruit and a way for customers to connect to the farm behind the face oil.

“People kept asking us, ‘Can I eat the prunes too?’ And now, they can,” she says, laughing.

The Future: More Than Skin Deep

Looking ahead, the sisters hope to expand into food products and develop new skincare innovations using plum byproducts. But the heart of their business will remain tied to the land.

“This is beauty from the inside out,” says Allison. “It’s not just about skincare. It’s about honoring our family, our roots, and the land that has sustained us for generations.”

Le Prunier is a continuation of a century-old legacy, reimagined through the lens of innovation, sustainability, and sisterhood. By transforming an overlooked agricultural byproduct into a globally recognized beauty ingredient, the Taylor sisters have bridged generations of California prune farming with modern wellness and skincare. Their story is not only one of entrepreneurial spirit, but also of intuition, resilience, and deep reverence for the land they were raised on. In doing so, they’ve carved out a new space for women in agriculture, one where tradition and transformation go hand in hand.

Article written for Alison Needham (@agirl_defloured) for CA GROWN, images provided courtesy of Allison Taylor, Le Prunier, and video by James Collier, Paprika Studios.