Are Chickpeas The Answer To Protein Getting Pricier?

Being ripped has never been so expensive. The boom in protein in absolutely everything has been a contributing factor to the rising price of whey protein, and so far in 2026, it’s gotten even more costly. Given that food brands clearly have no intention to hop off the protein train any time soon (just last week we were talking about Hormel’s new protein-focused snack bites), they’re presented with a choice: Do they try to use other types in their food, or do they spend more money and charge customers more in the process?

Videos by Sporked

Well, one producer is pursuing an alternative: What about changing the food they’re trying to make more protein-rich at the base level, instead of adding it in later? That’s what NuCicer is doing with its new chickpeas. Let’s discuss.

Nuchi Chickpeas

Yesterday, a press release from crop improvement and crop design company NuCicer announced that it had launched Nuchi, a new class of high-protein chickpeas, at IFT 2026. According to the NuCicer website, Nuchi contains 50% more protein and 25% less fat than a standard chickpea – and because of this nutritional profile, they don’t need to undergo the defatting step that most chickpeas go through, which raises the cost of chickpea production. As far as we can tell, Nuchi won’t be sold in cans: Instead, it’ll be available as chickpea flour, protein concentrate, or isolate. 

NuCicer says that Nuchi is “the product of foundational plant genetics research accelerated by NuCicer’s AI-driven genomic modeling and speed-breeding technology.” The company took inspiration from ancient wild varieties of chickpeas to develop the non-GMO ingredient. “Nuchi proves we can deliver elite nutritional traits directly into the seed and at speeds traditional methods can’t match,” said NuCicer’s CTO, Sean MacEachern, in a statement. NuCicer links the development of Nuchi with the rising demand for whey protein and is positioning itself as an alternative – and given that it’s all getting so pricey, it wouldn’t be a surprise if food manufacturers responded positively. 

When Will It Be Available?

It looks like it might be a while until you can buy Nuchi in stores. NuCicer has planted 10,000 acres of its new chickpea variety with planter growers across North America for 2026 (it also notes that chickpea growth helps to move nitrogen from the air to the soil, thereby enriching it), and it’s currently “working with ingredient processors and food manufacturers to establish partnerships.” It is, however, accepting sample requests through its website – so this thing definitely exists, if not in large quantities just yet!

For now, though, most of us will have to wait it out to see how Nuchi progresses. Will chickpea protein bars be the next big thing? Only time will tell.