US agriculture innovation companies NuCicer and Stricks Ag are teaming up to scale a high-protein chickpea variety, aiming to meet growing demand for more nutritious ingredients.

NuCicer, an advanced predictive breeding and crop innovation company, will partner with non-GMO speciality pulse provider Stricks Ag to deploy more than 10,000 acres of NuCicer’s high-protein chickpea variety in the 2026 growing season.

This marks the first large-scale commercial deployment enabled through the combination of NuCicer’s predictive breeding platform and Stricks Ag’s production ad processing network.

Stricks Ag will lead production, primary processing and commercial market development of high-protein chickpea ingredients through its established grower network and modern processing facilities.

NuCicer’s chickpea variety is claimed to provide double the protein and less fat than conventional chickpeas, enabling the use of simple and familiar ingredients that can boost nutrition, functionality and flavour across a range of product applications. The initial focus will be on supporting pasta, bakery and snack food brands.

Founded in 2019, NuCicer uses predictive breeding and natural diversity to bred for nutrient-density, flavour and improved agronomics.

Its chickpea breeding library was developed through a systematic crossbreeding programme, led by co-founder Douglas Cook from the University of California Davis. The library brings together wild chickpea relatives with modern-day commercial variants, expanding natural diversity by 40 times and unlocking key food quality traits.

Kathryn Cook, founder and CEO of NuCicer, said: “This strategic partnership represents an exciting and important milestone for NuCicer as we move from innovation to scale”.

“By partnering with Stricks Ag, we’re ensuring that these high-protein chickpea varieties can move efficiently from field to food manufacturers – strengthening quality, performance and supply reliability.”

Planning for 2026 production begins late spring, with harvest expected in August.