Episode 306 of Where Brains Meet Beauty continues Power Duos theme with a rare kind of duo: sisters. Allison Taylor and Jacqueline Taylor, co-founders of Le Prunier, join Jodi Katz to share how a fourth-generation Northern California farm became the foundation for a skincare brand, and what it really takes to build a company with family, boundaries, and a lot of trust.
Allison’s childhood dreams were split between animals and music. She grew up on a farm outside Sacramento and wanted to be a veterinarian, but she also secretly wanted to be a singer. She actually pursued music in her 20s, even getting interest from record labels, before choosing entrepreneurship. Jacqueline’s early relationship with skincare was personal. She dealt with acne from a young age, which made her hyper-aware of ingredients and labels. She also trained as a competitive gymnast for years and entered UCLA with plans to become a dermatologist, until one internship involving an abscessed tooth and the reality of blood made it clear that medicine was not her path. The passion for science stayed. It simply took a different form.
Their careers led them into different worlds, but with a shared thread: obsession with ingredients. Allison’s post-college chapter included Mother Denim, where she supported the co-founders and learned the early mechanics of building a brand, from PR packages to sales reports. Jacqueline leaned into culinary school and wellness retreats, designing menus and experiences rooted in organic ingredients and creativity. That food-world perspective still influences how she approaches formulation and product development today.
Le Prunier’s origin story is deeply tied to their family farm, founded in 1916 and later transformed in the 1980s when their father bet big on organic plums for global markets like Japan and Korea. As teenagers, they sat in international business meetings where dried plums were positioned not just as a digestive, but as a “beauty food” with powerful benefits. Years later, that seed became a business. The breakthrough was realizing that the byproducts of dried plums were being treated as waste, despite research highlighting their antioxidant density. Testing confirmed the potential, and what started as an idea to sell the ingredient to major beauty companies evolved into something bigger: tell the story themselves and build a brand around it.
The sisters describe their working dynamic as equal parts complementary skills and unspoken trust. Jacqueline leads with grounding energy, team-building, and deep R&D knowledge. Allison brings marketing instincts and brand-building experience. Together, they rely on honesty, quick collaboration, and clear lanes that let each person stay in their strength. It is a power duo, but also a power trio. Their third sister, Elaine, is part of the business too, and the conversation highlights a reality of family entrepreneurship that rarely gets said out loud: you pass the baton when life shifts. Boundaries matter. They talk about protecting weekends, staying present during family time, and the long-game mindset of supporting each other through different seasons.
One of their biggest “all hands on deck” moments came from a viral spike in demand after Chrissy Teigen mentioned the brand in 2020. At a time when they were intentionally low on inventory ahead of a rebrand, they suddenly faced tens of thousands of orders, months of backorders, and the need to scale quickly without breaking trust. The unique twist is that scaling for them is not just ordering more bottles. It is farm infrastructure. Le Prunier owns proprietary on-site equipment like oil presses and filtration systems, and the farm operates with regenerative practices that include sheep for cover crops and even a wastewater system involving a massive biofiltration setup powered by worms that help return nutrient-rich water back into the orchards. Their version of “operations” looks very different than most skincare brands.
The episode also explores how they define success now. Early on, success looked like landing big accounts and chasing major milestones. Today, it is still growth and visibility, but with a deeper focus on team wins, long-term relationships, and building a company where success is shared, not hoarded. They close with the grounding practices that keep them steady. Jacqueline hikes with her family and protects Saturdays as true off-time. Allison leans into yoga, breathwork, and intentional wellness as a non-negotiable support system for founder life.
The conversation ends with a skincare-inspired travel game, where the sisters choose their dream “skin reset” destinations, from Bali to Seoul to Kyoto, and a gentle reminder that skin does best when we do less: be consistent, be careful when switching products, and keep the routine calm, especially when life is moving fast.