JAPAN - If you went to the grocery store today, picked up a tomato, and heard a gruff farmer’s voice say hello, would you be a little disturbed? Well, if you were in Japan that little talking tomato might just be what literally talks you into buying a whole bunch of veggies.

In a unique in-store promotional tool, Japanese developers Suda Lab and Hakuhodo i-studio’s HACKist creative lab have developed what they call, “the Talkable Vegetables.” With this tool, the voice of the farmers that actually grew the produce tells the consumer where the veggies are from and what makes them special. 

"The vegetables, placed on a display stand consisting of specially designed wooden crates will, when you touch them, address you affably in the voices of the farmers who grew them,” Hakuhodo says in a press release. ”They will tell you the secret of why they taste so good.”

See the talking veggies for yourself in the video below:

How does it work, you’re wondering?

When the moisture in human skin makes contact with the vegetables, it creates an electrical signal for the vegetable to play its pre-recorded audio.

According to the developers, this one-of-a-kind technology makes it possible for:

• Consumers to confirm a farm product’s safety and trustworthiness by listening to the information from the farmer.
• Consumers to get a sense of the farming environment, origins, and values of the produce.
• Customers to enjoy a fun, next-generation experiences of vegetables themselves becoming part of the retail system.

By surprising customers with the Talkable Vegetable, vegetable sales also rose just as surprisingly. WhatDesignCanDo.com reports that with this innovation, sales rose  as much 250 percent in some Japanese supermarkets. 

Will this interesting innovation make its way over to a grocery store near you? Only time will tell, but take note next time you hear an unexpected voice in the produce aisle.