Buying bananas may no longer be the same again, thanks to South Korean supermarket chain E-Mart.

Whoever is in charge of packaging at the supermarket has come up with the brilliant idea of "one-a-day bananas", or Haru Hana Banana. The fruits are packed in boxes of five - each fruit at a different stage of ripeness.

The first banana can be eaten on the day of purchase, and the rest consumed progressively day by day.

Bananas are usually sold in bunches, which means the fruits ripen at the same time, resulting in either unsatisfyingly underripe bananas on the first day you buy a bunch, and then panic four days later as the remaining fruit all ripen faster than you can consume them.

Haru Hana Banana, which sells for 2,980 won (S$3.60) on E-Mart's website, has made waves online.

A tweet about it by South Korean lifestyle website askakorean.net called the packaging "genius at work" and received more than 13,000 likes and 8,000 comments.

User Allyson Beatrice commented: "I love this. I have banana ripeness anxiety."

However, some users also expressed concern about the plastic packaging and its environmental impact.

User Gigi Richardson wrote: "This is just adding to the plastic problem."

This is not the only banana innovation in recent times. The Mongee Banana grown in Japan's Okayama Prefecture features edible skin, and the first successful crop was grown last November.